Who Am I, Mistress?
by Goth Albino Angel
Summary: Hermione is captured during the Death Eater raid on the Department of Mysteries. Bellatrix doesn't get ahold of her until every OTHER Death Eater at the battle has had their way with her. Bellatrix puts her through hell, but what happens when Bellatrix pushes her too far? Things change completely after that. Slight AU, obviously. Rated M for a REASON.
1. Captured!

**_Okay, so I know many of you aren't happy with me for not updating Start All Over fast enough, but at least know that I have another chapter written, just not typed. For now, enjoy this. It's Bellamione with a slight twist._**

**_I don't own Harry Potter._**

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><p>Hermione awoke with a groan. She couldn't see through the darkness around her and she tried to remember what had happened. Slowly, the memories filtered back. Harry had insisted on going to the Department of Mysteries to retrieve Sirius from Voldemort's wrath and she, Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna had foolishly gone along with him. A battle had ensued with the Death Eaters because, just as Hermione had predicted, it had been a trap. Blocking curses left and right, Hermione had tried to keep Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy away from Harry and the others, resulting in her being the last one in their group to make it through a door.<p>

It would be just her luck that Bellatrix ran through the exact same door. Hermione could only escape by tossing a Reducto curse behind herself, exploding the giant chessboard they had stumbled upon. She hurried through another door and met up with the others, all of them trying to hold their own against the Death Eaters despite Luna being unconscious thanks to Dolohov, Ginny having a sprained or broken ankle and Ron having a long cut on his forehead spilling blood. They all raced into a room with a giant veil in it and Hermione heard voices behind the veil.

Feeling a twisting in her stomach, Hermione warned the others not to go near it. Most of them listened, though Neville and Ron still looked like they wanted to move closer. Harry was the only one not to listen. He moved closer and closer to the veil, his hand raised as if to touch it. "Harry, no!" Hermione had shouted just as the Death Eaters had flooded the room. At the same time, members of the Order of the Phoenix came through a different door and another battle ensued, causing Hermione to have to duck Killing Curses and Stunning spells from all directions. As she was getting to her feet yet again, a hand closed around her throat.

"Well, well, well." Hermione's blood had gone cold at the voice. "I think the little Mudblood has wandered into the wrong territory indeed." Bellatrix had kept a good grip on Hermione's throat as she shot a curse at Sirius, who had been fighting Mulciber; the spell hit him square in the chest and with a shout of surprise, he had tumbled through the veil and had not come back. Before he had even fully fallen through, Bellatrix was pulling Hermione behind her, the lighter brunette struggling against the hand around her throat. Just as Harry and Ron came running out to try and catch up with them, Bellatrix had pulled Hermione into a fireplace and the boys had disappeared in a burst of green flame.

Now, Hermione's eyes widened as she swung her head around to try and figure out where she was. The darkness was almost completely absolute, so she figured that she must have been in a dungeon or something of the like. Just then, a door opened and Hermione looked up to see Peter Pettigrew looking in at her. He gave a small smile and beckoned her forward. An invisible force pulled Hermione along behind the rat animagus and she struggled against the force, trying to flee. They were traveling through a maze of halls and as they passed doorways, Hermione saw Death Eaters in many of the rooms, laughing and chatting or planning and strategizing. At last, they arrived in a long drawing room with an almost equally as long table occupying it. Occupying the table was none other than the Dark Lord himself along with Bellatrix Lestrange and Severus Snape.

"Ah, the prisoner has awoken." Voldemort said in a cold, but pleasant voice. "Allow me to just call in my other Death Eaters and then the interrogation can begin." Hermione gulped as he pressed the mark on his arm. Within minutes, the Death Eaters began to fill the table and Hermione felt her nerves rising further. Many of the Death Eaters shot her glares and Hermione remembered that she was the one that gave them most of their injuries, aside from the Order, of course.

"Now, Granger Mudblood," Voldemort began in that same cold, but pleasant voice. "We can do this the easy way in which you simply surrender and give up information, or the hard way in which my Death Eaters use whatever means of torture they wish to persuade you into giving over information. Your choice."

Hermione thought this over quickly. She analyzed her choices carefully as she looked around the room. First, there were too many Death Eaters for her to even think of getting out alive, not to mention that the window was right behind Voldemort's head. Second, Snape was also part of the Order of the Phoenix, which meant he would report back to them and tell them that she had sold out her friends if she chose the first, easier option. Third, it was likely that the second option would kill her and if she stayed quiet long enough for that to happen, they would still not be getting information from her. They were most likely going to kill her if she gave up information anyway. So, bringing together all of her Gryffindor courage, Hermione looked the Dark Lord straight in the eye and held up her chin defiantly.

Voldemort looked both angered and somewhat impressed with her show of bravery, but nodded all the same. "Very well then, take her to the dungeons, Wormtail. Prepare her for whatever my followers may think is appropriate." Pettigrew scurried along, using that same invisible force to drag a still struggling Hermione away from the table. As she was leaving, Hermione saw Bellatrix whispering to Lord Voldemort and the lipless man shook his head. "No Bella. Dolohov, Mulciber, Lucius, Nott and the rest of the males have all called first pickings on the Mudblood. It seems you were the only one competent enough to stay out of her wand fire. So you may have her when they are finished." The last thing of the room that Hermione saw was Bellatrix sitting back with a pout as all of the men in the room either laughed or groaned.

Hermione paced the dungeon anxiously. Wormtail had stripped her of her clothing once she had been shackled to the dungeon floor and had used a scourgifying spell to clean her of any dust or dirt. Then, he had gone with her clothing and Hermione was left naked, pacing with the only sound to be heard the clinking of the chains as she walked. She could only imagine what horrors the male Death Eaters were going to show her, but if she was lucky, by the third Death Eater, she would be dead and never have to face the wrath of Bellatrix. According to some of the chattering she had heard as Wormtail took her through the halls to the drawing room, she had unintentionally killed Rodolphus Lestrange. That meant that both Rabastian and Bellatrix would not be happy with her. At last, the door opened and Hermione looked up to see Antonin Dolohov step into the dungeon, smiling wickedly at her as he hung his wand on a rack that was far too high for Hermione to reach.

"Well, well, look at the Mudblood now." Dolohov gave Hermione a cheeky smile as the brunette began backing away, shaking in fear. "Oh you _should_ be scared. I'm not happy with that little slicing hex you sent my way."

Hermione gulped as Dolohov began undressing. "P-please..."

The Death Eater raised an eyebrow. "So you beg for it? As you wish then, Mudblood."

"No." Hermione groaned softly as Dolohov pinned her to the wall of the dungeon, his erection pressing into her pelvis as he ground himself against her. Hermione winced as the sharp, cold stone of the wall bit into her back. When the Death Eater thought himself ready, he dragged a struggling Hermione to the ground.

"No! Let me go!" She squirmed and wiggled as he pressed his cock to her lower lips. The Death Eater simply laughed and easily slid himself into her. Hermione screamed out in protest and Dolohov groaned, feeling how tight her walls were.

"This should make it easier to make you bleed." he mused aloud.

"Please, stop!" Hermione cried, feeling a twinge of pain in her stomach as he thrust roughly into her.

"Not a chance, Mudblood." Dolohov growled, dragging his nails down her sides, leaving stinging bloody trails in their wake. Hermione hissed out in pain, reflexively curling in on herself. Dolohov pulled on her hair to get her to lie straight and Hermione whimpered as tears stung her eyes.

"That's right, slut. Cry and scream." Hermione tugged at her hands, but he had her in a vice-like grip and his body kept her legs in place. She was trapped.

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><p>"Absolute idiocy is what drove you to that!"<p>

Harry flinched as Professor McGonagall chewed him out. He was sitting in the Headmaster's office with a dumbstruck Ron, a defeated looking Neville, a frowning Luna and a sobbing Ginny.

"But Professor, I thought they had Sirius!" Harry cried.

"That is not the point, Potter." Snape hissed at him. "The point is that you acted on that thought. And it was a trick."

"But do you know what isn't a trick?" Professor McGonagall growled. "They have Hermione Granger! She is a muggleborn. Do you know what they could do to her? They could-"

"No!" Ginny shrieked. "Please Professor McGonagall. Please don't say it. Don't say any of it! I can't..." Ginny turned into Luna's hug and cried into her friend's chest.

"Ginny," Ron tried to console his sister. "We all understand how you feel. She was our friend too, you know?"

Ginny rounded on her brother and shouted, "You arse! She was my girlfriend!"

Ron, Harry and Neville gasped in surprise as Ron's ears began turning red. "Your girlfriend! That's disgusting! What would Mum say?"

"I don't care! It doesn't matter what Mum says."

"Doesn't matter?" Ron yelled incredulously. "How could it not matter?"

"Because Hermione's gone and there's a pretty damn good chance I'm never going to see her again! I never even got the chance to say I loved her too."

"She told you she loved you? But that's a load of shite!"

Ginny whirled around and punched Ron in the nose, rushing from the office. Luna glared at Ron as the redhead tried to stifle the bleeding appendage and raced after her friend, stopping her near the Charms classroom and pulling her inside, embracing her and cooing to her in an effort to calm her.

Ginny sobbed into her best friend's robes, feeling the pain closing in on her at the fact that the one person in the world she loved more than anything could quite well be dead by the next morning.

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><p><strong><em>I go through and edit everything. Hooray! I figured out what the ending was missing. Now, in the meantime, review for me. :)<em>**


	2. Screaming

**_Next chapter ready to go! I'm really happy with the number of reviews I got for the first chapter. Didn't think it was that good. Either way, thanks for the support and here's your next chapter. Enjoy._**

**_I don't own Harry Potter._**

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><p>Hermione screamed as her back arched, her body shaking from the Cruciatus Curse Rabastian was throwing her way. His features were twisted into a mask of rage.<p>

"My brother was the best damned Death Eater the world would ever know, you disgusting filth." He hissed, relinquishing the Curse only to knock a blow across her cheek. Hermione went rolling along the ground, her battered body protesting movement. "He should have had an honorable death, you dirty wretch."

Hermione whimpered as a laceration opened along her chest. "Instead, he was buried beneath Azkaban. A watery grave."

The Cruciatus Curse returned. Hermione shrieked in agony as her limbs twisted and curled, the pain ricocheting through her body. It was unbearable; Rabastian's wrath made the Curse that much stronger. Hermione tried to think of something, anything, that would take her mind off this excruciating agony and her mind automatically went to Ginny.

Ginny.

Her fiery red hair glowing in the winter sun, her mischievous smile whenever she had a trick up her sleeve, her laugh when Fred and George pulled a joke on someone, the way it felt to hold her hand... Slowly, Hermione's screams dwindled as she forgot about the pain and immersed herself in memories of her girlfriend, a place no one could hurt her.

Rabastian watched as the Mudblood's eyes went blank as she stared at nothing and ceased her screaming. _What the bloody hell is going on?_ He wondered, his eyes narrowing. _Is my curse not powerful enough? No, that can't be it! I learned from Bellatrix, after all. Then why isn't she screaming?_

Waving his wand once more, Rabastian shouted, "Crucio!"

Hermione felt the stab of pain come at her, but she concentrated on Ginny, her silky hair and soft brown eyes.

A squeak? That was it? What the hell was going on! She should have been screaming her throat raw, begging him to stop the agony, pleading for unconsciousness! Rabastian roared in fury and sheathed his wand up his sleeve, striding to the Mudblood and kicking her in her side. The filth gave a shriek, but it quieted almost instantly.

Rabastian, not one for keeping his temper in check, growled in frustration and bound the wretch to the wall. Transfiguring a stone in the wall into a knife, he began slicing into her with shallow uneven cuts.

Hermione grit her teeth against the knife's blade. _MERLIN! It hurts!_

_Think of Ginny! Think of Ginny!_

_What can I think of?_

_Think of... of... think of her lips! The way she said your name! Anything!_

_Damn! It HURTS!_

Unknowingly, Hermione began to sob, tears streaming down her cheeks as the Death Eater cut into her again and again.

"Finally, a reaction worth going through this for. For filth, you sure are a stubborn bitch."

"Hey Rab!" a voice called from the stairway. "Time's up!"

"Damn!" Rabastian cursed, releasing Hermione. The downed witch, slumped to the stone in relief. The Dark Wizard pulled her up by her hair and hissed, "Mark me, I _will_ get my full revenge for what you did, you Mudblooded bitch."

With that, he slammed her into the stone ground and strode out, leaving Hermione with an hour's reprieve before the next torture session.

_At least Ginny made it out safely._ Hermione thought, her eyes sinking closed as she drifted into darkness.

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><p>"A <strong>lesbian?<strong> In _my_ house? This is an **_outrage_**!"

Ginny stood before her mother as Mrs. Weasley paced the kitchen, her hands and hair waving about angrily. At the table, Fred, George and Bill gave their sister sympathetic looks as Ron constantly shot her smug glares and Harry stared at the wooden surface guiltily.

"How could this have happened? What did we do _wrong_?"

"Mum, you didn't do anything wrong-." Ginny tried, only to be cut off by her mother rounding on her.

"We _must_ have! Otherwise you wouldn't be running around like some hoodlum, kissin' on girls!"

"Not _girls,_ Mum! Just one! Hermione-!"

"Don't bring that girl up under my roof! It's her Muggle ways that turned you this way in the first place!"

"Her _Muggle ways_ had no part in my choosing of who to date! If you didn't have so many _boys_ before you had me, I wouldn't find the opposite gender so repulsive!"

"What do my sons have to do with this?" Mrs Weasley demanded, her face getting redder than before.

"Look at them! Ron's smelly and rude and arrogant and judgemental! Fred and George are loud and obnoxious when I'm trying to study. Percy's an arrogant prick in the side with his condescending tone and 'holier-than-thou' eyes! Charlie's dirty and scarred! Bill's the only decent one!"

There was an eruption of 'Hey!' from the table, but a glare from both Mrs Weasley and Ginny silenced any further protests.

Mrs Weasley turned back to her daughter. "I refuse to allow it! I will not have you running after skirts like your brothers! You are a _girl!_ Girls like to date _boys!_"

"But none of the ones I've dated have been _good enough_, Mum! They were either loud or grabby or conceited! I didn't want someone like that! I wanted someone who would hold me when I cried or make me laugh when I was angry and take me to romantic places instead of to a dark passageway to snog.

"Hermione did all that and more! She tutored me! She helped me through my classes when I didn't understand something! She even made an effort to help me with Divination despite her hatred of the subject. But she helped me because she loved me!"

"She did **no such thing!**" Mrs Weasley roared.

"Yes she **did!**" Ginny shrieked. "She **did** love me! You're just too blinded by your homophobic, judgemental ways to see it!"

"You _will not_ date girls any longer!"

"Well I'm not dating blokes and you can't make me!"

"Go to your room this instant!"

"Fine! It's not like you ever bother to listen to me anyway! There's another thing Hermione did! _She listened to me!_"

As Ginny stormed up the stairs to her room, Mrs Weasley turned to her youngest son. "I need you to keep an eye on her in school."

"But Mum-!"

"No buts, Ronald. You make sure she doesn't go kissin' on anymore girls, understood?"

"Yes, Mum." Ron groaned.

"Good, now go get that room straightened up!"

"I'll go help." Harry offered.

Mrs. Weasley immediately turned docile. "No, Harry dear, you stay down here. Fred and George will go help their brother clean his room."

The twins groaned, but disappeared up the stairs.

"I just feel really sorry." Harry sighed. "All this is my fault. Ginny getting into trouble, Hermione being taken by the Death Eaters-."

"Wait, she was taken by _Death Eaters?_" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, shock and guilt coloring her face.

"Yeah..."

"And I said all those things about her... oh that poor girl! I do hope she's still alive."

"So do I." Harry murmured sadly.

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><p><strong>There's the next chapter for you all. Drop me a review, wouldja? :)<strong>


	3. A Pet and a Promise

**_Alright! So, I've decided to speed up the process a tad. It has been a month since Hermione's capture. Spoiler Alert: Bella! Thank you. :)_**

**_I don't own Harry Potter, be it series, movies or idea._**

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><p>Hermione wondered when she would die. That had to have been the most humiliating thing in her entire life.<p>

_Tied to a wall, she hissed as Pettigrew's rat-like teeth dug into her skin once more. She attempted to pull away only for the binds to stick fast. She growled as his teeth once again gnawed at her chest and it gave her some satisfaction that being suspended on the wall meant that she was even taller than her natural five-six and he couldn't reach her throat._

_Then, the most humiliating thing in the world happened: he tried to fuck her._

_Hermione stared down in disbelief at the quivering excuse of a man as his tiny penis made its way (not even HALFway) into her core. Pettigrew shook with repressed fright through the entire thing and Hermione felt absolutely disgusted as he tried to rape her. She had been through a lot of violation the past week (the easiest to get through somehow managing to be Lucius Malfoy's), but this... this was ridiculous._

_At last, the poor man ejaculated and chained her back to the floor. Hermione simply watched him leave, too stunned to even laugh._

She was raped by a rat. Not a man, not a woman, not even a dog. A rat had raped her and she had just barely felt any of it. It had been that pathetic.

Crawling to her corner and curling her body into a tight ball, Hermione slowly drifted to sleep, wanting to get the whole experience out of her mind. Hours later, the brunette heard a creaking sound through her dreams and subconsciously knew that someone else was coming.

Hermione groaned and awoke as the loud creaking of the dungeon door rang in her ears again. Looking up, Hermione had been expecting to see another wanton male who hadn't already raped or tortured her. She was not prepared to see Bellatrix Black walk into the stone cage, calmly taking in her surroundings. Hermione knew what she was seeing. Blood and male cum everywhere, chains and whips hanging from the walls, a battered, bloody underage witch lying as close to the wall and far from the disgusting filth as she could get.

Bellatrix sighed. "Men. You'd think they'd have the decency to clean a bit so that they at least don't get themselves infected."

Raising her wand, Bellatrix cast a cleaning spell and the dungeon began tidying itself up. When it was clean, the Dark Witch leaned against the wall and surveyed Hermione for a few moments, her black eyes trailing along the marks left behind by endless abuse.

"What do you want, Bellatrix?" Hermione spat after having the Dark Witch stare at her for over two minutes.

"Well, Mudblood, that's no way to speak to your new owner. Let's see if we can't fix that tone. Crucio!"

Hermione screamed as pain rocked through her body. Her limbs twisted and curled in on themselves as red-hot agony shot through her. "Stop!" She cried. "Please stop!"

"Not until you apologize." Bellatrix singsonged, laughing as her eyes shined in pleasure.

Hermione clenched her teeth and glared up at the witch. When it became apparent that she wasn't going to say anything, Bellatrix sighed and lifted the curse. Hermione went limp as aftershocks went through her, everything twitching from the onslaught. Bellatrix circled her and hummed to herself as she raked her eyes over her new pet once more.

"I've been waiting to get to you, you know." The Dark Witch stated conversationally. "I was hoping they didn't ruin you too much just for me. It would have been a shame if you couldn't keep up with my playtime."

"What do you mean... playtime?" Hermione's mind raced with hundreds of different ideas of what playtime could mean and, because this was Bellatrix Black, **none** of them were good.

"Oh dearie." Bellatrix removed her dagger from her corset. "It's a wonderful thing. You'll be _screaming_ for more."

And as the Dark Witch bound her to the wall and stalked closer, Hermione felt an aching pain in her chest. She was petrified.

"Luna, I don't know what to do anymore." Ginny sniffed, clutching at the blonde girl. "Hermione's gone and Mum doesn't understand and Ron's being a git about the whole thing. He's just jealous he didn't get to shag 'Mione before she was captured, thuggish brute. Sometimes, he's as bad as Goyle and Crabbe."

"Perhaps your mother has Gnargles in her ears?" Luna suggested.

Ginny shook her head. "No, I've already checked. She's clean, just homophobic." She'd learned quite a while ago to indulge Luna because the blonde really was a good friend, just a tad wacky.

"Well, there must be some way to make her lay off."

"I don't know, Luna." The redhead replied. "I just don't see a way to change her mind right now. Hermione's capture added on, it's still so fresh in everyone's minds."

"Then let's wait it out til school starts again, alright?"

Ginny nodded, snuggling further into the comfort of her best friend.

"And Ginny?"

"Hm?"

"Promise me you won't do anything with Harry anymore? I know he's your brother's best mate-."

"My brother can suck Harry's-."

"-but I don't want you putting yourself in danger anymore. You're the only one who actually bothers to humor me when I talk 'nonsense'."

"Cause we're best friends. I promise Luna."

"Thank you. For Hermione's sake."

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><p><strong><em>Hm, I wonder if I presented this chapter too fast. I really wanted to get to Bella's part, I was so excited. Why don't you guys tell me?<em>**


	4. Subconscious Magic

**_I don't own Harry Potter, be it series, movies or idea._**

**_Sorry it's taken so long. An author I met a few weeks ago told me that it's usually that I don't know what my characters want that creates writer's block. For me, that's not true, it's actually trying to give the characters what they want. But, you can keep up to date on all my stories from now on with my new blog at gothalbinoangel-fiction. blogspot. com. So, yeah. Sorry it's so late, but here you go._**

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><p>Hermione writhed and screamed, Bellatrix standing over her with a sneer on her lips. "My brother-in-law tells me that you could withstand his Cruciatus Curse, yet you lie here at my feet screaming in agony." The Dark Witch flicked her wand once more and Hermione felt her limbs curl in on themselves, her veins being set on fire by the excruciating effect.<p>

"Stop!" Hermione begged through hot tears. "Stop, please."

"Tut tut. Now, don't think asking nicely will help you after what you did."

The muggleborn witch found herself flashing back to what had happened only ten minutes ago.

_Hermione had been lying asleep in her corner, having another of her horrid nightmares. This time it was of Rowle. A blade cutting into her again and again, her blood streaming over the cement floor of the dungeon. Rowle had just been going to make another incision in her chest when a sharp kick awoke Hermione and had her jumping up to try and understand what was going on. A sharp pain in her side made her scream out and she turned to see Bellatrix smirking at her cruelly, holding a blood-stained knife._

_"Time to wake up, Muddy." The black-haired witch had sing-songed. _

_Hermione simply stared at her, keeping her distance. Bellatrix waited for a reaction of any sort and seemed dissatisfied with the lack thereof. Flicking her wand, the Dark Witch summoned a pail of slop from near the doorway. "Well, I suppose you must ea,t so bon appétit."_

_Hermione stared at the pail in disgust and moved it away from her. Bellatrix tutted. "You must eat dearie or I'll be out of a new toy. Again. Come now, eat up." Hermione continually refused to eat and so the older witch sighed. "Imperio." _

_Hermione felt an odd sensation spread through her body and a voice in the back of her mind said, **Eat it**. The voice was so inviting and Hermione felt light as a feather, ready to let whoever that voice was take command of her body. Walking over to the bucket of slop, Hermione knelt down and began eating it, Bellatrix cackling above her. When the brunette felt that she could eat no more, Bellatrix lifted the Imperius Curse and Hermione felt the light and feathery feeling disappear, replaced with nausea. _

_"There, don't you feel better with a full stomach?" Bellatrix cackled. Hermione glared up at her and gripped the pail, tossing the remaining slop at the Dark Witch. The liquidy substance splashed along Bellatrix's dress and shoes._

_"You miserable wretch!" the Dark witch shrieked, backhanding Hermione into the wall as she scourgified herself. Grabbing the younger witch by the hair, Bellatrix hissed at her angrily. "You're gonna get it for that."_

And that is how Hermione ended up on the floor writhing and screaming in agony. Except… for a while, she hadn't felt the needles of the Cruciatus Curse. A sudden kick slammed into her side and the brown-haired witch groaned, rolling over slightly.

"You stopped screaming!" Bellatrix snarled. "You stopped screaming to _my _Crucio! How _dare_ you! How _did_ you…?"

Hermione climbed to her hands and knees, realizing what must have happened. It was just like Rabastian: calling up memories, even recent ones, gave her something other than the pain to focus on.

Bellatrix watched the witch kneel before her and wondered what she was thinking about. _How did she get through my Cruciatus curse without screaming? I drove the Longbottoms to insanity with that curse!_ Diving into the younger witch's mind, Bellatrix looked around to see if the girl had had any prior training of some sort, but nothing presented itself. So she dug into the past few moments and found that the Mudblood had just been recalling the memory of how they got to this point.

Bellatrix pulled from Hermione's mind with a raised eyebrow. _She evaded the pain with a memory? And not even a happy memory, it was purely for analytical purposes. What kind of magic is this?_

Hermione slowly sat up and looked up at Bellatrix with frightened, yet defiant eyes, wondering what the black-haired witch was going to do to her next. Bellatrix surveyed the younger girl, trying to figure out how to break that little Muggle mind trick the younger had used to evade her Crucio. Deciding to leave it for a later time, the Dark Witch set about making sure everyone knew who the Mudblood belonged to. Removing her knife from its holder in her corset, the Dark Witch raised her wand and cast the Cruciatus once more.

Hermione felt pins and needles stab every cell of her being and tried vainly to think of a memory good enough to make her go numb. There wasn't one that came directly to mind and so, by the time the curse lifted, the brunette was panting and breathless from her screaming. Bellatrix knelt beside the sobbing girl and stowed away her wand before taking Hermione's left arm in her hand. Poising the knife, the black-haired witch began carving into the brown-haired witch's skin.

Hermione shrieked as the blade ripped through her flesh. The cuts were deep enough to provide ugly scaring, but not deep enough to permanently injure the muscles in her arm. When Bellatrix finally stood again, Hermione whimpered and looked at her arm, staring in horror at the lettering written there. MUDBLOOD. The younger witch glared up at the black-haired woman and spat, "Why did you write that on my arm? In my own blood no less?"

"It will teach you a lesson about respecting your superiors. So you never forget your place." Bellatrix cackled and raised her wand. "Crucio!" Hermione writhed and screamed, the pain in her arm getting ten times worse.

"Stop!" the lighter brunette begged, feeling as though fire were touching the open cuts dead on. "Please stop!"

Bellatrix simply cackled, holding the curse until Hermione passed out and then casting a Rennervate to awaken her and do it again. Hermione screamed for mercy until her voice was hoarse, but Bellatrix did not relent, so determined was she to show Hermione that she was the higher power because her blood was purer. No memories came to Hermione's aid this time.

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><p>"Ginny!"<p>

The redheaded girl turned to see Dean Thomas running to catch up with her. "What do you want, Dean?" Ginny asked, eyeing the dark-skinned boy curiously.

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me tomorrow night?"

"Where to?" Ginny asked, cocking her head.

"Maybe to the Three Broomsticks, you know, to… to hang out?"

"Hang out?" Ginny raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"I-I was just thinking that since you and Hermione…" He stopped for a moment, unsure of how to finish that sentence.

Ginny's eyes narrowed in oncoming fury. "Hermione and I what, Dean?" Several students had stopped to watch as the redhead slowly advanced on the taller boy.

"W-well, uh… since she's d-dead I just thought-."

Ginny's wand raised and pressed against his throat, her eyes as fiery as her hair. "She's not dead." She grit through her teeth. "She's not dead and I _will_ find her. Don't ever let me hear you say that again, understood?" The poor boy looked ready to pass out as he slowly nodded his head against the wand at his throat.

"Hey mates, look!" Ginny and everyone else turned to see Draco Malfoy and a group of other Slytherins making their way forward. Draco stopped behind Ginny and smirked. "What's wrong, Thomas? Even being a friend of Potter's is a fact unable to stop you from pissing off your superiors? What did you do to Weasley then?"

"That's none of your business, Malfoy." Dean snapped, backing out of Ginny's wand while the girl wasn't looking.

"Say something about her poor girlfriend, then? I've never seen her this mad."

"Shut up, Malfoy!" Harry snarled, coming through the crowd.

"What's goin' on, you git?" Ron demanded, right on Harry's heels.

"Ask your sister, Weasel." Draco snickered.

Ron turned to find Ginny glaring at Dean with her wand rounding to point at his neck again. "Ginny?"

"He said Mione was dead and thought that gave him right to ask me on a date."

"Ginny, you have to move on. She's with Death Eaters, no way are they gonna let her live. She couldn't possibly be able to last this long."

Ginny rounded her wand on her brother, her magic making her hair lift, much the same way Hermione's did. "She's not dead!" the younger Weasley shouted, all but snarling at her brother. "She's not dead, you stupid moron!"

"She's as good as dead, being in the clutches of the Death Eaters!"

"And whose fault is it that she is? Whose fault? _His!_"

Ginny now turned her wand on Harry. "If not for _him_, Mione would still be here, she'd still be safe. She's a _muggleborn_! She'll be given to Bellatrix Lestrange as a pet because this idiot wanted to play hero right into the enemy's hands!"

Luna came through the crowd and placed a hand on the distraught redhead's shoulder. "Ginny, you need to calm down. Your magic is upsetting the garglups in the rafters."

Ginny turned to Luna and everyone thought she was going to hex the girl for speaking nonsense at such a time. Instead, Ginny took several deep breaths and nodded, casting one last glare at all of the students around her before disappearing in a sweep of her robes, her stride so fast that most didn't even see her move until she had already turned the corner, Luna right beside her.

When the two girls had gone, Ron turned to Dean. "Why are you trying to date my sister?"

"Easy, mate, it would have just been a simple date to the Three Broomsticks, nothing fancy."

Ron nodded, his eyes glittering with malicious intent. "Make sure it stays that way. _Nothing fancy._"

Harry was still glaring at Draco and the pale-haired Slytherin was glaring right back, the smirk still on his pointed features. "What's so funny, Malfoy?" Harry growled.

"That's a secret for you to find out, Potter. Or are you and Weasel not smart enough? Do you need your much smarter bookworm Mudblood to help you?" The Slytherins behind him snickered and jeered as the entire group moved on.

"Come on, Harry. We still owe Snape detention for hexing Malfoy last week. Let's go, mate." Harry nodded and followed Ron down the corridor, wondering why the ever-present smirk had looked more smug than usual.

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><p><strong><em>There we are. Much better now that there's an update and chapters are symmetrical. Sorry, I have OCD. Anyway, review and tell me what you think of these recent of developments.<em>**


	5. Submit and a Plan

**_I don't own Harry Potter, be it series, movies or idea._**

**_Alright guys! I'm back. Yeah, I know, it's been a minute. But no fear. Here's another chapter. Thank you to all those still with me and I hope you like this chapter. _**

**_WARNING RAPE. That's all. Enjoy. :)_**

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><p>Hermione groaned. She could feel the rings around her eyes now. They were heavy bags that needed to be cured and only a good night's sleep would do that. However, between the nightmares and Bellatrix's torture, she was just barely getting even four hours of sleep at night. Yawning for the tenth time in half as many minutes, Hermione attempted to curl up and sleep, but a creak jolted her upright once more. Bellatrix stormed in and growled at her angrily, hitting her with the Cruciatus curse immediately. Hermione screamed and writhed as she felt her limbs contort, pleading for mercy.<p>

"Filthy Potter!" Bellatrix hissed, pacing back and forth as Hermione shrieked below her. "Always has to make my lord angry. Why haven't we caught him yet? It is the middle of November! We should have him. The Order is watching over him like gargoyles, damn them all."

Hermione could just make out what the witch was ranting about and would have laughed had she not been in so much pain. Recalling a memory of Harry ranting and raving somewhat the same way back at Grimmauld Place, Hermione saw some of the likeness. The Potter and Black families must have been related. Funny thing was, Harry was ranting about being kept out of all the planning. Hermione wondered if he was involved in it now that she was gone.

Bellatrix stopped in her tirade when she registered that there were no more screams filling the dungeon. Shrieking in outrage, she sent a kick to Hermione's head, knocking the younger witch out of her memory and causing her to groan.

Bellatrix paced for a moment before turning to the lighter brunette. "I suppose having all this stress pent up certainly isn't a good thing." The Dark Witch stated softly. "Perhaps some stress relief will help me."

Hermione stared fearfully as Bellatrix moved closer. All of a sudden, chains sprang from the floor and wrapped around her wrists, keeping her chained in the dog position. "W-what are you going to do to me?" Hermione squeaked.

"You'll see, dearie." Bellatrix snickered. Hermione looked forward for a moment before she felt something large enter her from behind. Her vaginal walls stretched painfully wide as Bellatrix thrust the object deeper into her.

"You like that, don't you, slut?" Bellatrix hissed as Hermione screamed out in agony. "You like being put to the use you were meant for, don't you? Mud-slut, submit to me."

"No!"

Bellatrix thrust faster causing Hermione to writhe and wiggle, wanting to be away from the excruciating pain assaulting her body. Bellatrix snarled and pounded faster, blood beginning to pool at their knees from the assault on Hermione's core.

"It hurts!" Hermione screeched. "Please! Stop! It hurts! Stop, it hurts!"

"Submit to me and I will let you be." Bellatrix cackled.

"No you won't, you lying bitch!" the younger witch spat behind her.

In response, Bellatrix rocked her body against each thrust to make it deeper and more painful. Hermione felt herself getting weak and as the pain reached its peak, everything went black around her. Bellatrix growled in frustration and cast a Rennervate, but to her surprise, the younger witch did not wake. She cast the spell once more and Hermione's eyes slowly opened. The Dark Witch gave a hard thrust and the younger witch sank back into unconsciousness. Growling in frustration, the Dark Witch gave the other girl one last kick before releasing the chains and heading back upstairs, wondering how she was going to fix her arousal now.

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><p>"Luna, I don't know what to do anymore." Ginny sobbed into her friend's chest, feeling lost as to a solution. "Mum's still trying to get me to date blokes, but none of them are interesting enough for me to actually care about them the way I did Hermione."<p>

Luna stroked Ginny's hair, cooing to her gently as she let her friend cry. "Well, why not find someone else to date you, then?" Luna suggested. "Another girl? I'm sure one of the other Gryffindors wouldn't mind. They liked Hermione, right?"

Ginny snorted. "They only liked her when she was helping them pass their classes. I think Neville was the only Gryffindor that actually _liked_ her. Her own roommates just wanted to shag her to see if she would loosen up more. No one saw more than the bookworm. I don't want to date anyone in Gryffindor, self-righteous pricks they all are. I wish I had been Sorted into Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw instead."

"There has to have been someone who liked Hermione? I mean, I didn't particularly like her view of me being insane, but I liked her as a person. She was kind-hearted and compassionate. I saw the way she treated you, Ginny. She was so gentle and protective with you, almost shielding you from everything. I'm sorry I can't be as a good a friend as she was a girlfriend."

Ginny's eyes widened suddenly and she pulled back, staring up at Luna calculatingly. "Luna, you're as brilliant as Hermione was!"

"Oh? Perhaps the higglypuffs are transmitting her mind through my body. How so?"

"I could date you!"

"But Ginny, I'm not into you that way."

"I don't have to really date you. I know you'd never be able to feel that way for me and likewise. I just want us to act as if we're dating so that I can get Ron and Mum off my back. It will give us more time to try and figure out where the Death Eaters may have taken Hermione."

"I'll help you if it means getting her back to you, Ginny."

The redhead embraced the blonde girl excitedly. "Thank you so much, Luna. You really **are **the best friend a girl could ask for."

"Thank you. Now, how do we go about this?"

"Hm, I suppose we'll have to hold hands from now on."

"Well, what did you and Hermione used to do?"

Ginny thought hard. "She would usually keep me close whenever we were together. We took trips down to the lake on days that were cooler than most so that the rest of the student body didn't suspect anything and she would cast a Disillusionment charm on us while we laid in the Astronomy Tower watching the stars and cuddling. Of course, there were times when she got jealous of a boy who asked me out and she would pull me behind a tapestry into a hidden passageway and snog me like no tomorrow, but I'm not sure if that needs to happen."

"So we mainly walk down the corridor holding hands and being very close to each other?"

"Pretty much."

"When do you want to start?"

"Next week. Let's let it build up."

"Kay."

"Thank you, Luna. I really owe you after this."

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><p><strong><em>How's that? Any good at all? Tell me in a review. Also, for any of you reading my Were…What? Story, The UltimateCombo is making a sort of spin-off of it if you want to check in with them from time to time. It's a really great idea and I think y'all should check it out.<em>**


	6. Breaking the Mudblood and a Howler

**_I don't own Harry Potter, be it series, movies or idea._**

**_Hey people! I know you've been waiting for it, so I decided to upload this chapter as well. Knock yourself silly and enjoy, kay? THANKS!_**

**_WARNING: Rape. Again. But mild this time._**

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><p>Bellatrix stormed through the halls of Malfoy Manor, prowling like an angry wildcat as she looked for something to torture. Somehow, the pitiful Mudblood had worked out a system to block out all forms of torture other than rape, but when the pain becomes too great during that form of torture, she continually passes out. Bellatrix was restless and angry. Moving through the manor, the Dark Witch found her sister speaking with one of the house elves. "Cissy!" she called.<p>

Narcissa continued talking to the elf and when it apparated away, she turned to Bellatrix. "What do you need, Bella?" she inquired calmly.

"A way to break the damned Mudblood!" Bellatrix hissed.

"She still has not broken?" Narcissa asked incredulously.

"No. Her mind is strong, Cissy. Very strong."

"Even so, you managed to break the Longbottoms."

"Yes, Cissy, but their minds weren't even this complex."

"She has one of _those_ minds?" Narcissa's nose wrinkled.

"Yes. It's all digital and grid-like. With platforms and such other Muggle computerized things."

"Well, perhaps the only way to break her now is to break not her mind or body, but her emotions."

"Emotions?" Bellatrix froze and turned slowly to her sister. "What do you mean 'emotions'?"

"We must make her think that she is completely alone and to do that we must make her think her friends cared nothing for her."

Bellatrix cocked her head. "So, I am to break her emotionally?" A slow malicious grin spread along the red lips and the Dark Witch practically purred at the prospect.

"Your animagus form may come in handy after all, Bella."

"I hope so Cissy. For now, I have a trip to Hogwarts to plan."

* * *

><p>Ginny moved through the halls of Hogwarts holding Luna's hand. Students stopped and stared as the two girls made their way through the corridor and whispers erupted in their wake. Ron came storming up to Ginny and none-too-gently pulled her aside. "Ron!" Ginny hissed, wrenching her arm from his grasp. "What is wrong with you?"<p>

"You're not supposed to be dating any more girls." Ron snarled back. "Mum said so! When she finds out, she's gonna go mad."

"I don't care what Mum says anymore!" Ginny snapped back. "She insulted Hermione, _your best friend_ mind you, just after she'd gotten taken by the Death Eaters. Mum can go to hell for all I care since that's where she thinks I'm going."

Ron nodded and stomped away. Before rounding the corner he shouted, "The letter's already been sent, you know. Sent it just last night. Expect mail." Ginny snorted and turned on her heel in the opposite direction.

"Expect mail?" Luna inquired as they continued.

"Yeah. Mum's gonna send a howler. But I'll burn it and ignore it. I don't care." The two girls made their way to dinner and Ginny sat at the Gryffindor table, slowly letting go of Luna's hand. She slid into a seat next to Harry who was talking to a standing Cho Chang.

"So, tomorrow then?" He inquired confidently.

"Definitely. See you then, Harry." The Irish girl made her way to the Ravenclaw table and Harry turned to Ginny.

"Hey Ginny." He said amicably.

Ginny glared at him. "How are you not the least bit worried about Hermione?" she demanded.

"I am!" Harry replied indignantly.

"Yet you're making your third date of the week with your third girl of the week. She's been all over you all year, Harry. When we find Hermione, she'll just drop you in favor of someone else."

"Ginny, how would you know that? Besides, Hermione's probably dead by now. There's no way she could last this long. And if you're right then…"

Ginny turned darkened eyes on the black-haired boy. "Then _what_, Harry?" she snarled, her wand magically appearing in her hand (figuratively speaking).

"Then… I'm not sure I _want_ her to come back. If Hermione was the reason Cho wouldn't go on a date with me before, then I'm glad she's gone now."

Before Ginny could cast any hex that came to mind, a scarlet letter dropped onto the table beside her plate. The redhead picked it up and flung it like a Frisbee, making it land in Cho Chang's pumpkin juice. Smirking, the youngest Weasley child watched as the Ravenclaw stared at the letter in bewilderment before sighing and opening it. There was a brief moment of silence before the letter burst into Mrs. Weasley's screaming voice.

"GINEVRA WEASLEY! WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT DATING FEMALES? IT IS NOT ALLOWED! DISENGAGE THE HEINOUS RELATIONSHIP YOU ARE IN OR I WILL BE FORCED TO PULL YOU FROM HOGWARTS SO THAT YOUR FATHER AND I CAN KEEP A PROPER EYE ON YOU!"

With that, the letter ripped itself to shreds, floated into the pumpkin juice and lit aflame, smoking out soon after and turning the juice a greyish color. With a smirk upon her face, Ginny turned to her meal and ignored all the stares she was receiving. After taking a quick bite of her mashed potatoes, Ginny turned to Harry and, in a voice that clearly rang around the silent hall, asked, "So, where are you taking Cho tomorrow?"

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><p>That night at Hogwarts, no one noticed the large black bat flying around the turrets, assuming that the rest of its group would be right behind it. Since it was close to curfew no one was really outside anyway. The bat circled many of the students' quarters rather than the teachers' rooms. If anyone would know what the Halfblood and his Weasel friend were up to it would be the other Gryffindors. Circling the Gryffindor tower, Bellatrix stopped at windows to check the minds of the students, mainly the other males. As most students were either sleep or concentrating on homework, Bellatrix found it easy to dig into minds and find the memories she needed. Cackling softly in her high screech, the large bat sailed for the gates, apparating as soon as she crossed the ward boundary line.<p>

* * *

><p>Bellatrix stepped into the cellar with a wicked grin painting her lips. Hermione instantly went on guard because whenever Bellatrix had <em>that<em> smile something was terribly wrong.

"Hello, Muddy. I'm here to play for a bit and then crack that pretty little head of yours."

"What do you mean, 'crack my head'?" Hermione inquired, images of a broken skull running rampant in her mind.

"Oh, just a little game, dearie. Nothing for you to worry about." Bellatrix flicked her wand and chains wrapped around Hermione's wrists, making her kneel on all fours. The Dark Witch cackled as Hermione struggled.

"Stay away from me!" Hermione shrieked, brown eyes wide with fear as Bellatrix loomed closer.

"Oh no dear, I don't think so."

Thrusting three fingers into the younger witch, the darker brunette basked in the screams she received as she thrust harder and at a faster pace. Leaning down to the little witch's ear, Bellatrix caught it in her mouth and tugged ruthlessly, making Hermione jerk away.

"Submit to me, Mudblood!" Bellatrix hissed, pounding into Hermione's aching core.

"No! Leave me alone!" Hermione screamed out as Bellatrix purposefully jammed her nails into her sore G-spot. "Please!"

"Please what, Mudblood?"

"Stop! Please stop!" Hermione sobbed as Bellatrix continued ravishing her body. When the Dark Witch finally released her, Hermione curled into a ball.

"This is what you still would have become had you stayed with Halfblood Potter."

"Stop calling him that!" Hermione snarled, glaring up at the Death Eater. "His name is Harry."

"Why do you care? He's probably forgotten yours. He's already found another female to hang around with."

"G-Ginny?" she asked hopefully.

Bellatrix cackled and Hermione gasped as images flashed in her mind of Harry sneaking around to see Pansy Parkinson, Padma Patil, Lavender Brown and, most frequently, Cho Chang. There were also images of Ron with Lavender Brown or Parvati Patil. Hermione felt her heart crack as she watched them all, Harry and Ron having a good time and laughing without her. However, her chest ached as her heart shattered when Harry's voice filtered to her with a picture of him and Ron walking along a corridor.

_"Kinda glad Hermione got taken by the Death Eaters." _

_"Yeah mate, all the birds are flockin' us now that she's outta the way." _

_"What d'ya think happened to her?" _

_"She's probably dead, Harry. Best forget about her, especially if we're heading to a double with the Twins." _

"No!" Hermione shrieked, clutching her heart as she choked for gasps of air. The pain in her chest grew as she saw more pictures of others whom she thought to be her friends, laughing and having a good time without her, hardly any sad faces in the images at all, not a single show of worry for her wellbeing. Above her, Bellatrix cackled maniacally as she watched her sob. "Please! Harry, Ron, no!"

The only person she didn't see in the pictures was Ginny and that gave her a small bit of hope. There was still one person that was worried about her and that helped ease the pain in her chest a bit. She slowly calmed down and her sobs reduced to hiccups. Bellatrix stood above her with a small smirk and Hermione simply glared up at her.

"You're batshit crazy." The lighter brunette finally sighed.

"And very proud, Mudblood." Bellatrix replied tauntingly. "Just like you're proud to be a swot. It must have killed you not to have books for weeks, eh?"

Hermione kept silent. She had been bored for weeks, her only entertainment, not entertaining to her, but to others. She was in desperate need of something to read and she was going to start writing in her own blood just so she had something to read every day.

"I'll take that as a yes, then. Have a good night, dirty filth. I'll see you in the morning, bright and early."

As the dungeon door slammed shut, Hermione curled in on herself and sobbed for the friends she thought she had. She wouldn't give up hope though. That was the only thing they'd left her with.

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><p><strong><em>There you are. I know you guys are gonna pissed either with me or with Harry, but someone's gonna be pissed. So here's the splanation. I need Harry and Ron not to care. There. Don't forget to check out TheUltimateCombo's spinoff of my fic Were… What? They're writing it and publishing soon. That aside, review and tell me what you think of it so far, ya?<em>**


	7. Not your friends and Needing a plan

**_I don't own Harry Potter, be it series, movies or idea._**

**_Ah, another chapter. I'm bored out of my mind, alright? Don't judge me. This is what happens when you skip school for a day. On the upside, I have the rest of the chapters planned out and this fic will contain twenty-two of them. Yayness! Enjoy the fic my faithful readers!_**

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><p>Bellatrix sat near the cellar door, simply watching the younger witch. She had cast a Disillusionment charm on herself so that she could observe without being noticed. The Mudblood was writing on the walls with her blood. <em>Such a primitive thing to do.<em> Bellatrix thought, stifling a cackle in her chest at the thought. Here was an intelligent witch, mind even more unbeatable than her magic, her only fault being flying, and she was doing something that stupid creatures used to do thousands of years before.

Supposing that she might as well start her fun before it was her pet's bedtime, Bellatrix stood and made her way into the middle of the cellar, making certain her boots didn't make a sound to alert the Mudblood. When she was in the middle of the room, the Dark Witch waved her wand and seemed to melt into the floor. Then she flicked her wand once more and magnified her voice. Clearing her throat quietly, the psychotic Death Eater began playing with her pet.

"Hello, Muddy."

Hermione jumped at the voice and looked around not seeing anyone. The voice itself seemed to come from the floors, but Hermione continued looking around for the source.

"Do you miss your little friends?"

Hermione glanced down to the floor and wondered how Bellatrix was projecting her voice from it.

"I suppose you do, except… they were never your friends. Were they? No, they were just using you."

Hermione backed into the wall and shook her head. "No, they care about me! They do!"

"Oh? Then where are they, Mudblood? Why are they not coming to get you?"

"They're planning with Professor Dumbledore. They're creating a plan to come and get me. They _do_ care!"

"No they didn't, Mudblood. They simply pretended like they did so that you would stay with them, help them and no one else."

Hermione shook her head again, looking around frantically for the witch who was torturing her this way. "They wouldn't do that to me! They were my best friends. Even if Ron would do that… Harry wouldn't!"

"And yet, even his moronic brain has told him that saving you is a lost cause because you are pathetic and worthless. Because you are as low as the filth that spawned you."

Hermione put a finger to her head. "No. You're just trying to get a reaction." _I won't let her get to me._ Hermione told herself. _She's just doing this to try and break me._

"You wanted to feel appreciated, but they only used you for their own gain."

Hermione whimpered as she tried to block the voice from her mind. "It's a taunt," she told herself. "She just wants to get you angry."

"Poor little Mudblood. Potter and the Weasel don't care about you. They haven't once tried to find you since you came to stay with Aunty Bella." Hermione tried to ignore the voice but it kept invading her mind.

"Do you really think they cared? As often as they got angry with you for not helping them with their work or requesting to be alone or spending time with other people like that young Seeker, do you honestly believe they were looking out for you rather than each other. Did they see the friendship the same way you did? Were they really your friends?"

"Please…" Hermione sobbed, now also fighting down the voice telling her that Bellatrix was right. "Please… leave me alone…"

The cackle rose from the floor and filled the room. "Foolish Mudblood, you still hold onto beliefs that are so clearly misplaced in the halfblood idiot and the temperamental blood traitor."

"Stop!" Hermione cried. "You don't know them like I do!"

"Oh? Then tell me, Mudblood. What have they given you for your birthday?"

Hermione thought back through the years and realized that neither Harry nor Ron even knew when her birthday was. Her shoulders shook as she replied quietly, "Nothing."

"Ah, and what did they get you for Christmas? A little trinket for a necklace perhaps? Maybe a fine book to pass the time? Or a toy for that darling cat of yours?"

"No they… they gave me things from the joke shop." Hermione's head was beginning to hurt.

"And have they ever asked you how your parents were?"

"N-no. I just thought that they didn't care enough about Muggles-."

"Ah-ha! But if one of their friends has Muggle parents, wouldn't it have been polite to ask about them instead of always going on about how horrible his aunt and uncle were or how great his mother's cooking is?"

Hermione curled into a ball and cried into her legs as she stubbornly fought the voice telling her that it was all true. "No!" she screamed. "They were my friends!"

A black figure appeared before her and materialized into Bellatrix, smirking down at her. "Were they really, Mudblood?"

Hermione shot to her feet with an anguished scream and made a leap at the Dark Witch, attempting to strangle her. Bellatrix waved her wand and a collar appeared around Hermione's neck, yanking her back toward the wall by a chain leash. The lighter brunette coughed as she fought for breath and glared at Bellatrix through her tears.

"They were just using you. Using you for your brain, for your smarts, for your naivety. How many times you did all of the homework, including theirs. How many nights spent wasted because you tutored them. How many trips to the hospital wing because of headaches caused by too much reading and not enough sleep. You meant nothing to them. Muggles would call you nothing more than their… computer."

Hermione curled in on herself and sobbed helplessly as Bellatrix left, cackling madly. The young witch lifted her head and stared at the scaring on her arm. _Mudblood._ Was that really all she had been? Was that really all Harry and Ron thought of her? Harry hated Muggles because of his aunt and uncle, but his mother had technically been just like Hermione, Muggleborn. Did that mean he hated her, his best friend? Did he hate his own mother? And Ron, well, he was never really interested like his father was. He never bothered to try pronouncing the technology correctly or adequately studying anything that had to do with Muggles. Did they really care so little about Muggles that the very thought of a Muggleborn witch being smarter than them was infuriating enough to put one girl through all that torment?

Hermione sank into a laying position, staring at the scars. She thought back on all of her memories and wondered if Bellatrix truly was correct in saying her friends… weren't really her friends. Hermione felt the tears continue as she sank into sleep, feeling as though she had never even known the meaning of the word **_friend_**_._

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><p>Luna and Ginny snuggled together on the Astronomy Tower doing the most cliché thing in the world: gazing at the stars. "I miss her so much, Luna." Ginny sighed softly, clinging to her friend.<p>

"I know, Ginny. She was one brilliant witch, despite her disbelief in most of the things I said. Hermione was still there for me."

"We have to get her back somehow, but no one will try and lead an expedition to get her and Dumbledore keeps shooting it down whenever I ask him about it."

"Poor old man doesn't know what's good for the Order. I think he's focusing too much on keeping Harry safe."

"Me too. Stupid boy. If it weren't for him, you wouldn't have gotten hurt, I wouldn't have gotten hurt and Hermione would still be with us."

"I know. But for now, we have to wait and try to figure out what else we could possibly do to help her."

"You there!" a voice shouted. The two girls jumped and turned to see Professor Snape standing only a few feet away from them, his wand tip glowing with the Lumos charm. "This way, both of you. Thirty points from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw each."

Ginny stood and approached Snape with Luna hot on her heels. "Professor, we were wondering if…" Ginny paused, Harry's paranoia at the man having rubbed off on her.

"What is it, Miss Weasley? I've no time for petty games."

"We wanted to know if you had any clue where the Dark Lord may have taken Hermione. No one's told us anything, but I'm worried about her."

Snape sighed and rolled his eyes. "I don't know where the Dark Lord may have taken her, but I know for sure that she is still alive."

The trio made their way efficiently through the halls. "How do you know, professor?"

"The Dark Lord will not simply discard her. Even being Muggleborn, Miss Granger is still the brightest witch of her age, able to compartmentalize, memorize and analyze all in one. Simply killing someone as gifted would be a very faulty move and one I'm sure the Dark Lord is not stupid enough to make."

Ginny nodded, feeling it odd that it was Snape providing her with this relief. They reached the Ravenclaw common room first and Luna bade Ginny a swift good night.

The walk to the Gryffindor common room was quiet, but before Snape let Ginny near the Fat Lady's portrait, he whispered, "Do not worry, Ginevra. I will talk to Dumbledore. Our headmaster is a crazy old man, but he _is_ very smart. I'm certain he has a plan cooking in that pot-like head of his. Just leave this up to the adults. No more children need to get hurt."

Ginny nodded, fully understanding his words. They were close to her promise to Luna. She wouldn't do anything idiotic anymore. Following a 'hero' on a death mission was pretty stupid and wasn't likely to happen again. Bidding her professor a good night, the redhead made her way up to her dorm room and stripped, getting into her pajamas before taking one last look out the window. All of the stars shone brightly back at her and Ginny nodded.

"We'll save you, Mione." She vowed. "No matter what it takes."

* * *

><p>"Headmaster, you <em>must<em> have _some_ plan to get Granger back."

"I'm afraid I don't Severus."

"But she's the biggest asset this side had. She was a gifted young woman and we're going to let her slip so easily?"

"Severus, is she even still alive?"

"Yes, Dumbledore. She is being kept as Bellatrix Black's new pet."

"Then surely she will not last long under such circumstances anyway."

"You are just going to give up? Just like that?"

"Severus, my job is to make sure that Harry defeats the Dark Lord once and for all. I've no time-."

"No time?" Snape hissed, his eyes narrowing. "No time? You are going to throw away our secret weapon for a boy who pretty much gave her to the trash can in the first place? Hermione Granger is truly the brightest witch of her and any age and we are going to simply let her go?"

"Minerva, please explain to Severus-."

"I'm sorry, headmaster." McGonagall cut him off, leveling him with a cold glare. "But I fully take Professor Snape's side in this. Hermione truly was our only weapon. She is what has kept Mister Potter and Mister Weasley safe through these years. Had it not been for her, the Dark Lord would have triumphed five years ago or four or two or even last year. Miss Granger was the key to helping Mister Potter defeat the Dark Lord. If we do not have her to help Mister Potter, then there is no reason to fight any longer."

Dumbledore sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "How do either of you propose I even go about getting her back? She is being guarded by not only Lord Voldemort himself, but also his guard, his servants and the most psychotic witch in the Wizarding world. Our forces aren't even big enough to penetrate the first wave."

McGonagall stood and shook her head, striding out.

Snape glared at Dumbledore. "Why don't you ask your precious Mister Potter? He and Mister Weasley got us into this mess. If it weren't for Potter's need to be in the limelight and Weasley's desire to be in the spotlight, Granger wouldn't have felt the need to protect them. We must fix this, Dumbledore, or the Dark Lord **will** triumph." The bat-like man swept out of the room, leaving the troubled headmaster to his thoughts.

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><p><strong><em>Dumbledore doesn't have a plan? The world's about to end! Lol, review for me, alright. Tell me what you think of this turn in events.<em>**


	8. Use Romance to break her

**_I don't own Harry Potter, be it series, movies or idea._**

**_Okay. I know that normally, something like this would happen in my thirteenth chapter, but considering the fact that I'm itching to get to this part, I'll let it slide this once. _**

**_SPOILER! Hermione gets broken, but not the way one would expect. Also, we do not see Ginny's POV of what happens until chapter nine. Enjoy my beautiful people. No I'm not a hippie, just please read._**

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><p>"I don't understand!" Bellatrix roared, her nails raking the wall in her rage. "Why won't she submit? Countless others have submitted long before now. It's been nearly eight months! She should have broken by now, or at least died."<p>

"Bella, you must calm down."

"No, Cissy! I want that information so that my playing can stop being monitored by that rat. I want to have free reign over how I play with her."

"There must be something we're missing." Narcissa stood and approached her angered sister. "What about… romance?"

Bellatrix turned to her sister with narrowed, confused eyes. "Romance?" she hissed.

"Yes. We've been playing on her love for her friends thus far, correct?"

"Yes…"

"Well then, perhaps we should play with her feelings for her love interest. Was there anyone in particular that she felt drawn to?"

"I assume it would be that Weasley boy. From what I've gathered from the memories of the Hogwarts teachers, he was always trailing her like a lost puppy. I'll dig into her mind to see if there was anything that stands out among her memories. I hope this works, Cissy. We're so close to breaking her, but there's that one thing standing in our way."

"If my hunch is correct, this is exactly that thing."

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><p>Bellatrix hung upside down in the corridor, watching as the teachers made their way around. Dumbledore may have protected against <em>humans<em> with the mark, but the old fool still hadn't figured out how to protect against animagi. Letting go of the ceiling, Bellatrix followed Professor McGonagall through the halls and to her private quarters. The Head of Gryffindor busied herself with grading papers and Bellatrix slowly crept into her mind, being careful just in case the woman had Legilimency training.

In her mind, Bellatrix was surprised to find that Ginny Weasley, not Ronald, had burst into tears and shouted that the two were dating. She watched the memory as Ginny raced out and the Lovegood girl rushed after her, cradling her gently. Bellatrix nodded and watched McGonagall as the older woman warded her door and settled down for bed. Bellatrix laughed softly as she changed back to her human form before opening the window and fluttering out, moving up to the Astronomy Tower before fluttering down.

Coming to Professor Sinatra's window, she watched the teacher sleep before digging into her mind as well, finding just what she needed. Images of Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood moving through the hallways together, holding hands. It was clear that they must have been together, if the memory of Sinatra catching the two snogging in the hallway was any indication.

Grinning toothily to herself, Bellatrix moved away from the window and fluttered through the sky, pumping her wings fast to reach the border. Before she could, however, a blast of red shot at her from somewhere near the castle. Glancing back, the Dark Witch saw Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape all glaring after her, their wands raised and aimed at her. Bellatrix looked ahead and found the border just in reach. Flapping faster, the Dark Witch passed through the border and reverted back to human. Cackling at the enraged looks on McGonagall and Dumbledore's faces, she apparated back to the manor, prepared to go play with her pet.

"Bella!" Bellatrix groaned and turned to see Narcissa making her way over. "Care to take a walk through the gardens?"

"Cissy, I hate strolling through the gardens."

Narcissa gave her a pointed look and asked again, with an edge to her voice. "Care to take a **walk** through the **gardens**?"

Bellatrix raised an eyebrow before she heard, _The Dark Lord wants to see you near the patio. Now!_ "Fine, Cissy, I will stroll through the gardens with you."

Narcissa nodded and the two made their way outside before Narcissa branched off one direction and Bellatrix headed to the patio to kneel before her Lord.

"Ah, Bella." The Dark Witch purred to hear her name coming from her master's lips. "How is progress with the Mudblood going?"

"Very well, My Lord. She is so close to breaking."

"Why is it that you do not simply look into her mind?"

"My Lord… her mind has shape."

"Excuse me?"

"Where other minds are simply thoughts, her mind is a mass of land where the thoughts can move and there are walls. It is almost like those filthy Muggle computers, all digital and compartmentalized. She continually moves information around so that I cannot find it and it would take days to get through her entire head whereas with a normal person it would merely take me a few hours."

"She is a very bright witch indeed."

"Yes, My Lord. But no matter, My Lord. Narcissa and I have been testing out the new method and she is just inches from breaking, I can almost hear her saying the words, 'Please, I'll tell you anything. Just make it stop.'" Bellatrix cackled giddily at the prospect of those words finally being said so that she can finally have her toy all to herself.

"I hope those words come soon, Bellatrix. I want the information on Potter."

"Yes, My Lord."

"Dismissed."

Bellatrix stood and returned to the manor, deciding to pay her little Mudblood a visit. Hermione sat in the cellar drawing on the wall with blood, her expression one of extreme boredom. She didn't even look up when Bellatrix entered the dungeon.

"Hello, Muddy." The Dark Witch crooned with a sneer.

"Hi." Hermione grumped.

"Aw, what's the matter? Too bored to even act interested?" Hermione didn't even bother responding, continuing to scoop up blood to continue drawing.

Bellatrix seemed like she was pondering something for a moment before her expression became one of nonchalance and she said, in a bored tone, "So you and the ginger girl were together? I must say, it _has_ taken her quite some time to get over you."

Hermione's head snapped up. "W-what?"

"You haven't heard? Poor little Mudblood. The girl Weasel is going out with the Loony Lovegood. It's the talk of Hogwarts."

Hermione's breath caught and she began bawling as images battered her mind of Ginny and Luna holding hands and walking down the corridor, lying side-by-side near the lake, snogging in a dark corner of a passage.

"Ginny!" Hermione screamed. "Ginny, no! Please no!"

Suddenly, a pain erupted in the brunette's chest, knocking her flat on her back. She arched upward and shrieked, feeling the pain increase as more images flashed behind her eyelids. Hermione began clawing at her chest and stomach, biting at her arms and legs and doing anything else to distract herself from this excruciating experience in her ribcage. Bellatrix's laughter rang in her ears as Hermione faded into blissful unconsciousness.

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><p>When she next woke up, Hermione kept her eyes closed for a second longer before opening them. Everything seemed different than the day before. It was still dark, but there was something new about the darkness. Standing, Hermione glanced around before trailing a hand over the wall to try and judge how big the room was.<p>

"Eighty paces long and fifty-three paces along the width. The room is an area of four thousand forty paces."

Suddenly, a door opened right next to where she was standing and the brunette glanced up to see a beautiful woman standing in front of her. The woman's black eyes glittered in her pale face and as she moved forward, her black curls bounced around her face and shoulders.

"Miss?" Hermione walked forward until she was a pace or two in front of the woman. "Miss, I... I was wondering if you could answer some questions." The woman raised an eyebrow and Hermione smiled. "Who am I?"

The woman laughed a high cold cackle and Hermione's instinct told her to fear it, but she couldn't bring herself to; it sounded so lovely. "What game are you playing at, Mudblood?"

"No game." Hermione replied in confusion. "I remember some things, but not all. I remember that I'm a student at Hogwarts, I'm a witch. I have two best friends who were going to save me from... something. I remember a lot of things, but I don't know who I am, who you are, or where I am and what I'm doing here. Please, I just want to-"

"Silence." Bellatrix commanded. Hermione fell quiet as the dark witch slowly circled her. "This must be a trick so you can make me let my guard down. We'll see about that. Crucio!"

Hermione's body dropped to the floor as she screamed and convulsed; within seconds she was screaming for her mother to help her. Bellatrix stared in shock as she let the Curse up and Hermione continued bawling like a little child. When her tears finally subsided, Hermione sniffed and looked up at Bellatrix.

"Do you still want to know who you are?" Hermione quickly shook her head, afraid the same thing might happen again if she said yes.

Bellatrix nodded and said, "Come here, Mudblood."

Hermione glanced around and assumed Bellatrix was talking to her. She slowly walked over to the Dark Witch as her mind began clicking. _Is that my name then? Mudblood? It sounds exotic._

Bellatrix couldn't believe the thoughts she was hearing. Thinking quickly, she used her Legilimency to sneak into the younger witch's mind. Everywhere she went there was a mind block, as though the girl's brain was purposefully shutting things off so as not to have to endure the painful memories. She couldn't remember the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, what she was doing at the Manor or even what her friends' first names were. She still somehow had hope they would come for her, but she couldn't remember why.

Bellatrix pulled out of the girl's mind and stared at her. _This could be useful indeed._ "Poor little Mudblood. Halfblood Potter and the Weasel still haven't managed to find you. You'll just have to stay with dear Mistress Bellatrix until then."

"M-Mistress Bellatrix?" Hermione tried the name out and smiled.

"That's me, dearie. Now, I will be back soon with your food and then I will take you to another room to begin your lessons." Hermione nodded and sat down, waiting patiently for her mistress to return.

Bellatrix traveled through the halls of Malfoy Manor, deep in thought.

"Bella! Bellatrix!"

"Oi Black!"

Bellatrix whirled around and hit Lucius with a Cruciatus Curse before lifting it and glancing at her sister. "What is it, Cissy?"

"Where are you going?" Narcissa inquired.

"I was heading to the kitchens to get the Mudblood some food."

"It seems you've done that." Lucius sneered.

Bellatrix glanced down in mild surprise to find that she already had the Mudblood's food and was halfway back to the dungeons. Narcissa walked forward. "Bella, are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine, Cissy." Bellatrix replied absently, staring speculatively at the food in her hands. "But, I need to talk to you."

Narcissa nodded and followed Bellatrix to a spare room as Lucius went off to torment something or other. "Cissy," Bellatrix paused to cast silencing charms. "I think… I think I've broken her."

"What?"

"The Mudblood. I think I've broken her."

"After eight months of trying she finally broke? Have you gotten any information?"

"That's just it. She didn't break the way the others did. She can't remember important events after she came to Hogwarts and some of the things we learn as we grow. It's like she reverted back to being a child."

"How do you know it's not a ruse?"

"I looked into her head. She has no Occlumency training, but things I could see before, I can't see now. Her trauma-induced mental blocks are stronger than even my mind."

Narcissa's eyes widened as she hit the point that Bellatrix had. "We could shape her any way we wanted. With a witch like her on our side, He will be in full power with a few years!"

Bellatrix gave her a wicked smile. "Stay here and wait for me to bring her."

Narcissa nodded and settled herself into a chair as Bellatrix took the food to Hermione. The lighter brunette was using blood from the floor to draw on the walls and jumped when Bellatrix entered.

"Mistress Bellatrix!" Hermione bounced forward and grinned up at the black-clad witch, her eyes focused on the older witch like she was the only woman in the world. Bellatrix felt a slight twinge in the bottom of her chest and suppressed a flattered smile. Setting the food down, Bellatrix watched the Mudblood race for it and stuff a warm biscuit in her mouth.

Hermione was just about to take another when she noticed that Bellatrix wasn't eating. Cocking her head, the lighter brunette stopped just in front of Bellatrix, holding the biscuit out. Bellatrix reacted without thinking and struck the girl across the cheek, sending her tumbling to the ground. Hermione whimpered and receded further into the dungeon in fright. Bellatrix raised an eyebrow at this behavior and sighed. _It seems I am going to have to act equal parts mother and owner._

"Come here and finish eating, Mudblood." Hermione slowly came out of the shadows and continued eating, keeping her head down. When she was finished, Bellatrix knelt next to her. Hermione flinched as Bellatrix stroked her bruising cheek.

"Use the bathroom, my pet. Then we will head to your new classroom."

Hermione brightened significantly at that and the Dark Witch strode back out the door as the younger witch moved to the chamber pot in the corner. When the brunette came up to join her, Bellatrix transfigured a nearby plant into a bucket of water and a sponge. "Wash yourself and then we can go."

Hermione nodded and quickly scrubbed the grime from her skin. When she stood again after cleaning her feet, Bellatrix had to hold her breath to keep from throwing her back down and fucking her senseless. The girl had definitely benefited from the constant abuse. Fighting against the chains had sculpted her arms and the constant kicking had given her legs nicely shaped muscles. Casting a Scourgify on her hair, Bellatrix nodded her approval.

"Come, my pet." Bellatrix led Hermione to an empty room and the brunette glanced around, noting that there was only one person in there.

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><p><strong><em>There you are. Hermione has been broken. What do you guys think? Will this play out the way you think? Review and tell me while I most likely post chapter nine. Reviews!<em>**


	9. Lessons and Revelations

**_I don't own Harry Potter, be it series, movies or idea._**

**_One thing to say. To char245, you are much closer than you think. Enjoy. Also, I think I've got a good title for this particular chapter. Check it out look._**

**_And so the lessons begin._**

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><p>The resemblance between the woman and her mistress was astonishing. The only differences were that the woman had blonde hair and blue eyes to Bellatrix's black.<p>

"Mudblood," Hermione's gaze snapped to her mistress and she smiled brightly. "This is my sister. You may call her Miss Narcissa or Mrs. Malfoy."

"Mrs. Malfoy?" Hermione suddenly fell to her knees, clutching her head with a pained scream. Both Bellatrix and Narcissa leaped into her head to find that memories of Narcissa were fighting their way to the front of the thought process. Just as they were about to hit the boundary line of comprehension, a wall blocked them and pushed them back. Bellatrix pulled out of the girl's head and she and Narcissa exchanged glances of surprise.

"She's very good at compartmentalizing." the Dark Witch commented.

"Very good indeed, Bella. Teaching her is going to be quite a treat."

"What shall we teach her first, Cissy?"

"Perhaps some proper etiquette. She did not kneel to me when she entered."

"I'm thinking that she should only kneel to a select few so that the men don't get too cocky."

"Who do you have in mind?"

"Well, myself, obviously, since I own her. You, naturally, because you're a dear relative of her mistress."

"What about the Dark Lord?"

"Only if she is ever fortunate enough to be in his presence."

"Any of the other Death Eaters?"

"None aside from Severus, since he's second in command."

"Aright, now that that's sorted out, what about her duties as a Mudblood?"

"Cleaning, sex, serving food, carrying out errands-."

"How can she do that without being seen?" Narcissa demanded. "If she's spotted, someone will tell Potter and-."

"Not outside the gates." Bellatrix hissed. "Just around the Manor. You know, delivering notices, tending the garden, organizing the books in the library." Narcissa nodded and they glanced at the younger witch. Hermione was staring around in wonder at all of the different paintings on the walls.

"Mudblood."

Hermione's head snapped in their direction and her eyes immediately honed onto Bellatrix's form. Narcissa raised an eyebrow as Hermione scampered forward. "Yes Mistress Bellatrix?"

"Sit on the floor so we can get started." Hermione's legs folded and she sat where she was, looking up at Bellatrix intently. "First, we will start by explaining a few things. You are a Muggleborn witch, commonly known as a Mudblood, which is why I call you that."

Hermione's face fell and her eyes coated with tears. "So it's not my name, it's just a class status?"

Narcissa and Bellatrix shared lost looks and hesitantly nodded. Hermione sniffed unhappily and a few tears made their way down her cheeks.

"Why are you crying?" Narcissa demanded.

Hermione's watery brown eyes lifted and connected to her suddenly uncertain own and the younger witch murmured, "I just want to know who I am."

Bellatrix sighed and knelt next to her, lifting her hand. Hermione's breath caught and her eyes went wide as she cowered away, covering her face fearfully. She was surprised when Bellatrix drew her hand down her cheek. "Who you are is irrelevant now, pet. I own you. It does not matter what your name is. Look at your arm."

Hermione stared up at her before looking down at the arm her mistress was stroking. She gasped at the mark on her arm, clearly reading 'Mudblood'. "So I belong to you and no one else?" Bellatrix nodded. Hermione grinned and sat up straighter, looking at the Dark Witch expectantly. "Then I am ready to continue my lesson, Mistress Bellatrix."

Bellatrix raised an eyebrow and stood as Narcissa continued. "We are purebloods. We come from the Black family." Hermione grimaced as a flashback came to her of a house elf preaching about the Noble House of Black.

"You're remembering?" Narcissa inquired.

"Yes. An elf... in an old dirty house. He said something about the 'Most Noble and Ancient House of Black'. Then a man with shoulder-length black hair kicked him. Poor elf. That must be an evil man." Hermione's eyes darkened in anger.

"Mudblood, the elves don't mind that we do that to them, but you are right; that is an evil man." Bellatrix turned to Narcissa. "Order headquarters must be Grimmauld Place."

"Cousin Sirius?"

Bellatrix nodded. "Alright then, Mudblood. Purebloods-."

"Only marry other purebloods unless they are disowned, which indicates that they did something to taint the family name. Muggles call it inbreeding and most Mudbloods and halfbloods compare it to the rednecks in the Eastern United States."

Bellatrix was slightly impressed. "Very good, Mudblood. What pureblood families do you know?"

"Black, Malfoy, Dolohov-." Hermione suddenly screamed out in fear and pain.

Narcissa jumped into her head and saw Dolohov raping Hermione, pulling out hair and scratching bloody trails along pale skin. "Antonin's rape." the blonde whispered to her sister.

Bellatrix suppressed a snarl and lifted Hermione from the floor. The younger witch clung to Bellatrix, shaking and sobbing. Narcissa saw uncertainty flash across her sister's face and wondered what the problem could be. She surveyed the two for a moment and realized the problem. Hermione was clinging to Bellatrix like a child would and Bellatrix didn't know whether to solve this by acting like a mother or an owner. Catching her sister's eye, Narcissa softened her gaze to signal that she should act like a mother. Bellatrix looked to panic for a moment before taking a breath and rubbing circles in Hermione's back. The lighter brunette slowly calmed and climbed down from Bellatrix's arms, looking up at her with red eyes.

"M-men are h-hurtful." she sniffed.

"Yes, they are, dearie. Shall we continue?" Hermione nodded hesitantly and Bellatrix took up the lesson. "Narcissa and I work for the most powerful wizard in the world. The Dark Lord."

Hermione cocked her had. "Is he... is he bad? I... I remember that he wanted to kill Mudbloods, people like me."

"He won't kill you, Pet. And he isn't a bad man, just... a revolutionary one."

Hermione nodded and Bellatrix continued. "I am a Death Eater, the Dark Lord's second in command. We call ourselves Death Eaters because we face it every day and still escape. Narcissa is not a Death Eater. Do you understand?"

Hermione nodded eagerly and Narcissa stepped forward. "Do you know the Order of the Phoenix?"

Hermione's face twisted slightly before her eyes brightened. "It's led by Professor Dumbledore, right?"

"Good girl." Bellatrix nodded. "The Order wants to stop the Dark Lord from cleansing the world of filth. They want to kill him. And they're going to use Halfblood Potter to do it."

"Halfblood Potter?" Hermione inquired.

"His name is Harry, but because he's a halfblood..."

Hermione nodded again in understanding. "How could Halfblood Potter kill the most powerful wizard in the world?" Hermione fought away the incoming memories, unwilling to feel the pain again.

"He can't, Dumbeldore just believes he can." Bellatrix sneered.

"Alright Mudblood," Narcissa sighed. "Since house elves do most of the cleaning already, you will only clean Bella's quarters."

"I will show you where they are when your lesson is finished."

"You will also tend the gardens. Are you more or less adequate at wandless magic?" Hermione looked up at the ceiling before nodding. "Good. Using the auguamenti charm, you will water the garden and we will give you scissors to cut weeds. Clear?"

"Yes Miss Narcissa." Hermione agreed.

Just then, Bellatrix stiffened and took Hermione's arm. "Come along, Mudblood, Let's get you back to your chamber."

Hermione pouted as she followed Bellatrix back to the cellar. Bellatrix cast a Scourgify to clean the room and remove the stench. Hermione looked at the room before hugging the Dark Witch goodbye.

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><p>Bellatrix hid a smile as she shut the door and hurried up to the drawing room to join the Dark Lord.<p>

"Ah, Bella, nice of you to join us. May I ask what kept you?"

"I was with the Mudblood again, My Lord." Bellatrix responded, taking her seat next to him. Nagini slithered to her and Bellatrix stroked the boa lovingly.

"Have you gotten information from her?"

"So far, the only information I've gotten was that Order Headquarters is at Grimmauld Place. My blood traitor cousin let them in."

Voldemort nodded and stared at the ceiling. "Eight months and even your best torture methods didn't work on her."

"She is very strong for a Mudblood, My Lord."

"Oh, but it wasn't just you, Bella. Each Death Eater had a chance to get information and all failed to do so. She isn't just strong; somehow, her mind is near invincible to normal torture methods."

Bellatrix thought on how the Mudblood's mind had blocked off so much of her past and she had to agree with her Lord on that point. The girl's mind was even stronger than the magic she possessed. "Perhaps, My Lord, I can get her to crack with a bit more time. I have a new plan."

"Oh?" The Dark Lord glanced to her, his crimson eyes boring into hers. Bellatrix opened her mind to him so that he could see what she was thinking. She showed him how she broke the girl and what she and Narcissa planned to do with her. "Very interesting indeed. Alright then, Bella. I want to see her in two days' time. Understood?"

Bellatrix gave a twisted smile and a head nod. "Yes My Lord."

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><p>"NO!"<p>

Luna rushed to her friend's aid as the entire Great Hall watched Ginny Weasley writhe on the floor. "Ginny, what's wrong?"

Ginny shook her head, unable to speak through the pain shooting through her chest. Professor McGonagall swept down with Professor Snape. Both teachers watched as Ginny twisted and wriggled, clutching her chest as tears poured from her eyes.

"Severus, what do you think it could be?"

"I'm not sure, Minerva." Snape replied, kneeling to try and calm the poor redhead, but the pain was too great to stay still. "Something's wrong with her emotional state."

"Would a Calming Drought do?"

"No. The feeling is too intense. A Calming Drought may end up making it worse."

McGonagall turned to the petrified Luna and wondered why the girl also wasn't crying. Any other person would be crying and begging the teachers to do something to save their lover. Why was Luna simply frightened?

"Miss Lovegood. Please escort Miss Weasley to the Hospital Wing."

The blonde glanced up at her teacher and McGonagall nodded. Luna gently but swiftly lifted her friend and carried her out of the Hall. Before she could make it to the door, some of the Slytherins began snickering at the display, much to the rage of the Gryffindors and the two tables—despite being on opposite sides of the Great Hall—began one large argument, older Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs ushering the younger students of their Houses out of the way in case of a fight.

More of the teachers came down from the dais to make certain that a fight wouldn't break out, but McGonagall was more focused on the fact that, despite Luna's lack of reaction to Ginny being in pain, she had lifted the girl gently, as someone in love would. _What is going on between those two girls?_

Meanwhile, Luna carried the no-longer-flailing Ginny toward the Hospital Wing, keeping her close.

"Don't take me to the Hospital Wing." Ginny murmured.

"Why not?"

"Because it isn't something that can be cured by Madame Pomphrey. It had to do with Hermione."

Luna stopped in her tracks and looked down at her friend. "Is she…?"

"No." Ginny shook her head, her brown eyes worried. "She's not dead. I can feel it. Something's wrong with her though. It feels almost like… she's not Hermione anymore."

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><p><strong><em>Hm, I need to think of chapter endings like that way more often. All mysterious and such. I like it. Review. Tell me, do you like the way I ended the chapter?<em>**


	10. Learning and More Revelations

**_I don't own Harry Potter, be it series, movies or idea._**

**_Alright, I'm back again. Sorry for the delay. Been typing alot. Now I'm just going to focus on a select few stories instead of all of them that way I may actually be able to get them finished faster._**

**_Alright, I got a few complaints last chapter about not seeing things from the Death Eaters' points of view so I tried to make that possible here. Whenever you see the word Mudblood not within spoken quotations that means a Death Eater's thinking that way rather than it being in Hermione's point of view. If it gets too confusing, I'll just continue referring to her as only 'Hermione'. Thanks, Review!_**

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><p>Hermione groaned in her sleep. She was napping, but her dreams were… confusing. Random objects kept coming into view and people she recognized but couldn't quite remember continually popped up. A redheaded boy with freckles, a cloak that made things invisible, a blonde girl with large glassy eyes, an hourglass on a chain, a black-haired boy with chubby features, a large goblet with blue fire, a tall gray-haired woman with glasses and a witch's cap on, a large troll in a bathroom… the list went on for quite a bit. And the voices as well. They said things that were so familiar.<p>

_"Wingardium Leviosa."_

_Hermione rolled her eyes and said, "Not WINgardium LeviosA. It's WingARdium LeviOsa."_

_The redheaded boy glared at her and spat, "If you're so smart, why don't you do it then."_

_Hermione cleared her throat, rolled up her sleeves and waved her wand with a swish and flick motion. "Wingardium Leviosa." The feather before her began to float into the air and the students around her gave her looks of jealousy and anger._

Groaning, Hermione rolled over in her sleep as the dream changed.

_"Good morning, class."_

_The sickly sweet voice made Hermione want to vomit and so she said nothing while the rest of the Gryffindors replied halfheartedly. _

_"Miss Granger, I believe I said 'good morning, class'. That means you should say good morning."_

_Hermione was very near her breaking point. If the toad woman didn't hush soon, the younger witch would be forced to hex her. Deciding to let off a bit of steam before having to head to Professor McGonagall's class after this one, Hermione turned to the teacher with a falsely sweet smile and said, "But Professor, my name isn't Class, therefore there is no reason for me to respond to you."_

_There was a collective gasp from the entire class as they all stared at her in utter shock. The woman's eyes got rounder and her mouth grew wider. "Detention, Miss Granger."_

_Feeling the Gryffindor courage taking hold, Hermione cocked her head in mock-confusion. "But your detentions normally last three to five hours, Professor. I have Transfigurations after this and you have a class to teach, surely we cannot do detention right now."_

_And still the woman grew more toad-like. Apparently, having a **Muggleborn **student verbally **thwart** her with a level of intelligence normally displayed in Muggle college Professors was not something the pink-wearing woman enjoyed. "I will see you tonight, eight o clock sharp, be no later. Understood?"_

_Hermione simply shrugged and sat down, deciding that one last sweet smile would do. "Yes Professor."_

Hermione thrashed slightly in her sleep, kicking out as the dream changed once more.

_"Hermione we have to!"_

_"No! I refuse!"_

_"But how are we going to get the information we need. They're threatening to lock Hagrid up again and Ron won't go with me."_

_"I won't either. He's a giant spider, Harry. How can he help us? Last time he attempted to eat the both of you with his fifty billion ugly, hairy children!"_

_Harry 'Halfblood' Potter lifted her into his arms and threw her over his shoulder, carrying her into the Forbidden Forest. "Harry, **no!** Put me **down!**" _

_Halfblood paid no mind as he continued deeper into the forest, making twists and turns to ensure that she couldn't find her way back on her own. Finally setting her down, Halfblood grinned at her smugly. "Ready to continue?"_

_"No! I'm going back to the school!"_

_"Good, just don't-."_

_Hermione turned and found herself face-to-face with eight large black eyes and a pair of hungry, venom-dripping fangs. Face going ghost white, the witch slowly backed away, raised her wand and, for lack of being able to talk coherently, stabbed it through the spider's head. It screeched in pain and fear and retreated. Had Hermione not been holding onto her wand like a lifeline, it would have been lost. Turning back around, Hermione found Halfblood half a dozen feet away, looking around._

_"H-H-Harry, I-I-I'm g-g-goi-ing b-b-back t-t-t-to H-H-Hogw-warts." She breathed softly, fighting to keep from fainting lest the spider come back with friends. _

_"Go ahead, Hermione, I'll be right with you."_

_Nodding, Hermione made her way through the Forbidden Forest and after what felt like several hours, she made it through to Hagrid's hut and, feeling a burst of relief, she shot for the school, not caring whether points were taken or detention given. She made it to the large oak doors, opened them and shot for the staircase, racing through the halls until she made it to the Fat Lady's portrait. _

_"Where have you been then?" the large portrait demanded. Hermione completely ignored her and sat down in front of her, leaning against the wall to catch her breath._

Shooting bolt upright, Hermione gasped for breath, looking around and trying to let her eyes adjust to the darkness of the cellar. Looking down at herself, the young witch cocked her head in confusion. "Those people, the school… that was me?"

Just then, the door opened and Bellatrix walked in. She surveyed the young witch and cocked her head. _Why is she simply sitting there? Surely this is not some childish staring game? Mudbloods are so strange. _Continuing to watch the girl, Bellatrix saw her expression change from one of confusion to one of understanding. _What was she thinking of?_

Jumping into the girl's mind, Bellatrix found her remembering a dream which happened to be her old memories. Pulling out, Bellatrix grinned. _She is remembering, which means information on the Order will be very simple and easy to gain._

Stepping forward, Bellatrix watched the filth whip her head around and grin. _What is she smiling for? I've not even done anything yet._

"Mistress Bellatrix!" Hermione bounced over and stood before the black-haired witch, large brown eyes looking up at her eagerly. _Another lesson today? I hope so._

Making her voice smooth and cooing, Bellatrix gave the Mudblood a sweet smile. "Hello, Pet. Are you ready to begin your lessons?" The girl nodded her head quickly, her eyes twinkling in anticipation. _I have never seen a child so eager to learn. She somewhat reminds me of myself when I was her age. Interesting. If only her blood status weren't so poor._

Turning, the Dark Witch led the younger through the hallways. Several Death Eaters stopped to stare at the naked witch following Bellatrix obediently.

"Oi, Bellatrix!" Fenrir called, his yellowish eyes trained on Hermione's slender throat. "Mind if I take her for a bit? Seems you've trained her like a pup. Maybe she won't struggle as much now."

Bellatrix sniffed. "You really think I would let something so tainted touch what is mine?"

"It's not like it would be for long." Macnair stated, walking up as well and surveying Hermione. "Have you been workin' her? She's quite filled out, looks strong. I'd love to take those legs for a ride."

Bellatrix drew her wand and aimed it right at the man's chest as Hermione moved behind her in fear. "You will not touch her. She is mine."

Fenrir continued to eye Hermione, drool dripping from his yellowed teeth as he focused on the pulsing vein at her neck. _What a wonderful pack member she would make. So strong and she's not afraid to be naked. Perhaps just one bite would do, though I would have to bite her other places first. Just the thought of feeling her beneath me…_

Hermione grew increasingly uncomfortable with his gaze and turned her eyes away.

"Mistress, he is staring at me. Why?"

"Because he wants you as his, Pet. Do not worry, he will not touch you."

"I want him to stop." Hermione lifted her gaze to Fenrir again and her eyes grew black. He cocked his head in confusion at the sudden change in color. _Is she another type of creature? I don't smell anything on her blood._

Hermione felt the uncomfortable feeling heighten the longer the man looked at her and she raised her hand. "Stop looking at me."

Fenrir cocked an eyebrow before screaming out in fear as everything went black. Bellatrix cocked her head in confusion as she and the Death Eaters around watched the werewolf grasp his face and roar in fury and fear. "She blinded me!" Fenrir snarled, waving his head from side to side. "That filthy disgraceful wretch blinded me!"

_Interesting._ Bellatrix mused. _The Mudblood can use wandless magic better than I thought. She may be more valuable than I thought she was._

Getting tired of Fenrir's screaming, Bellatrix rolled her eyes and waved her wand, restoring his sight. When his eyes adjusted to the sudden light, Fenrir leaped for Hermione. The younger witch screeched and streaked down the hall, the werewolf giving chase.

Hermione ducked and dodged several Death Eaters who were watching in confused shock as she darted past. Fenrir barreled through his comrades, not bothering to swerve or duck around them. This, naturally, slowed him down as he had to frequently untangle his limbs from those of other Death Eaters. Hermione glanced back and ended up slamming into someone.

She looked up to see Lucius Malfoy glaring at her with Narcissa right at his side. Hermione leaped at Narcissa, clinging to the blonde witch and startling her to the point of making her stumble slightly. Fenrir moved closer as Lucius surveyed his wife, who had a young woman wrapped around her chest and head. The girl definitely looked familiar.

Raising an eyebrow, the blonde man turned to Fenrir. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.

"She used wandless magic to blind me." Fenrir growled. "Someone restored my sight. The bitch sure knows how to run, I'll tell you that much."

Suddenly, the werewolf fell to the floor, writhing and screaming in agony. Out of the crowd of surrounding Death Eaters stepped Bellatrix, her wand aimed right for Fenrir as her black eyes glared at him coldly. "You don't touch her." She snarled. "She is mine."

"Then learn to control her!" Fenrir shouted through his pain.

Bellatrix held the curse while she turned her eyes to her sister, who was trying vainly to pull the Mudblood off of her. "Bella, get it off me!" Narcissa shouted.

"Mudblood." Bellatrix called.

Hermione immediately perked up, turning her head to see Bellatrix watching her. Jumping down from Narcissa, Hermione raced for Bellatrix instead, hugging her tightly. The Dark Witch, to her credit, didn't fall over or lose concentration on the Curse she was casting, but she did let out a muffled grunt at the impact of the younger witch's body.

Slowly lifting the Curse, Bellatrix peeled the cowering Mudblood off of her. Tossing the girl onto the floor, Bellatrix turned her wand on her. "You." She hissed. "Why was I not told you knew intermediate wandless magic? That was a spell more complex than the aguamenti…"

Hermione clutched her head with a grunt and Bellatrix nodded her head to Narcissa, ordering her sister to delve into the girl's mind. Narcissa did as told, wrinkling her nose at the platforms and grids she saw around her. Looking to the memory being recalled, she found that she was actually sucked into it as it played.

_Ignoan Mulciber advanced on the shaking Mudblood, his face clear of emotion aside from curiosity as he surveyed her crumpled form. Whatever Macnair had done to her, it had been brutal. The Mudblood looked up at him with frightened eyes and Mulciber smiled, conjuring a knife from a nearby brick in the wall._

_"I suppose a bit of blood sport wouldn't hurt, eh, Mudblood?" he asked softly._

_The Mudblood let out a soft sob and crawled as far from him as she possibly could, but Mulciber continued strolling toward her, using the knife to pick his own fingernails._

_"Please, no." the Mudblood whimpered pathetically, looking around for any escape and praying that one would magically appear (pun intended)._

_"I didn't appreciate such an elaborate derivative of the Stunning Spell. Could've killed me you could've. I think you deserve to know what your version feels like."_

_Mudblood felt the first slash across her chest and shrieked in pain and horror. Narcissa grinned as she watched Mulciber give her quick, painful, precise slices all along her body, going so far as to cut across her face, damaging her eye to the point of blindness._

_However, something strange happened. Mudblood felt a rush of warmth within her and she remembered back to all of the long nights when she was teaching herself wandless magic, starting with small charms and working her way into the stronger enchantments until she could effectively produce a wandless Patronus from her finger without summoning a single happy thought._

**_She's very strong._** Narcissa thought to herself as she watched what the Mudblood would do next._ Facing Mulciber with determination in her gaze, the brave little swot raised her finger and thought calmly, **Stupefy.**_

_Mulciber's eyes widened in utter shock as the red jet hit his chest before he crumpled to the ground. He was a smart man to leave his wand outside of the room. Had he not, he probably would have been dead and the Mudblood would be walking free. But as she didn't know the password to unlock the door, she was trapped until someone came in and Mulciber awoke, glaring at her angrily. Casting a crude wandless Cruciatus, he growled, "No more wandless magic, girly. You won't be able to get out and if you kill even one Death Eater your fate is sealed. You might just want to deal with it."_

_"Mulciber, it's gonna be my turn soon!"_

_"Comin', Mate." Mulciber called, lifting the curse on the Mudblood and heading to the door in an angry huff._

Narcissa pulled out of the memory and showed it to her sister. Bellatrix smirked at the suddenly embarrassed Mulciber. "Really, Ignoan?" she cackled happily. "A Mudblood bested you with a Stunner?"

"Oh stuff it, Bellatrix. You would have been taken off guard had you been in my place."

"True enough, I suppose, though I would have issued a much harsher punishment." Mulciber huffed and walked back up the corridor, followed by the majority of the Death Eaters around them. It was about then that Lucius finally recognized the girl.

"Ah, the Mudblood we've all had our fun with." He chuckled. _Right fun she was. So youthful. Almost reminded me of the old times with Narcy. Except much, much rougher. Served her right, constantly besting my Draco at his schooling. A Mudblood swot, how absurd!_

"Yes, Lucius." Bellatrix stated with a manic grin plastered to her lips. "Cissy and I are training her."

"Good luck with that. She may be a swot, but she is very bad at knowing who her superiors are, constantly besting Draco in his schooling."

"Lucius, you are simply more offended by the fact that, not only is she a Mudblood, but she is female as well." Narcissa scoffed, turning contemptuous blue eyes on him. His steel grey stared back for a moment before the blonde man stormed away.

"Bella, I am not up for teaching the Mudblood right now." Narcissa sighed, turning to her sister. "I have a massive headache."

"Another fight with Lucius?" Bellatrix inquired, her eyes softening in a look she only reserved for her sister.

"Yes. He was actually talking about this very girl and we got into an argument about the fact that it wasn't just the racism, but the sexism as well. Not only was a Mudblood besting our son, but a _female_ Mudblood at that. He thought it absurd that a woman could be smart enough to beat Draco and I had to remind him that you were above his position to the Dark Lord."

"Well done, Cissy. I will let you go rest then while I take Mudblood for her next lesson."

"Thank you, Bella."

As Narcissa moved off along the hall, Bellatrix led Mudblood to the room they had been in earlier. Mudblood dutifully sat down on the floor in the exact same spot as before and looked up at her Mistress curiously. Bellatrix grinned happily at the fact that the girl was so well-trained already.

"Alright Mudblood. We shall work a bit more on your etiquette." Mudblood cocked her head to the side, her eyes wide with wonder and confusion. "When you are walking down the hall and you see myself or Narcissa coming, what is it you do?"

Mudblood ducked her head as she tried to think of an answer. "Do I bow, Mistress?"

Bellatrix cackled softly. "Very close, Pet. No, you kneel with your head down to show your submission. You kneel before no one but Narcissa, the Dark Lord or myself, understood?"

"Yes Mistress."

"Now, if you see one of the other Death Eaters, what do you do?"

Mudblood gulped and asked, "Bow my head as a sign of respect?" Bellatrix raised an eyebrow. "They are my superiors, are they not, Mistress?"

"Indeed they are, pet. Very insightful for a Mudblood." Bellatrix tapped her chin recalling what she and Narcissa had spoken of earlier.

**_"Alright, now that that's sorted out, what about her duties as a Mudblood?" _**

**_"Sex, serving food, carrying out errands-. _****Not outside the gates…** **around the Manor… delivering notices, organizing the books in the library…"**

Nodding to herself, the Dark Witch turned her gaze back to the girl at her feet. The little witch was gazing up at her in almost childish wonder and it made Bellatrix simply want to laugh, seeing such a look on a seventeen-year-old girl's face.

"Now, my pet, we are going to work on your tasks to do around the manor."

"Tasks, Mistress?"

"You will carry out errands around the Manor. Stand, Pet, and come with me."

Hermione obediently stood and followed after the Dark Witch as Bellatrix began leading her through the hallways. Bellatrix took Hermione throughout the Manor, pointing out different places for her to memorize. Coming to the Drawing Room, Bellatrix stopped. "This is where meetings with the Dark Lord are held. You don't go in here unless the door is open, understood?"

"Yes, Mistress Bellatrix." Hermione replied.

"And what do you do when you first see the Dark Lord?" Bellatrix inquired.

"I kneel before him, Mistress."

"Good pet. Come along."

Hermione trailed Bellatrix to a door in the next hallway. It was painted black with hints of green and silver. "This, is my bedroom." Bellatrix stated, motioning for Hermione to enter.

The lighter brunette slowly opened the door and looked around. Everything was pristine, from the lacquer-black walls to the silver and green drapes to the spider web themed bedspread and mahogany bed. Hermione stared at the room in wonder. Despite the obvious darkness surrounding nearly every object in the place, it looked very beautiful to the seventeen-year-old's eyes. It fit her mistress very well, seeming to capture the mirth and regality of her mistress' personality.

Hermione turned to find Bellatrix watching her. "It is very beautiful, Mistress." She murmured, gazing once more at the canopy bed and draperies.

"Indeed it is." Bellatrix said lowly, as if to herself. No one had ever called her room beautiful. Most had simply stuck with dark, dangerous or deranged, which suited her personality as well as her bedroom. Clearing her throat to clear her thoughts, the darker brunette motioned to the Mudblood and they exited. "You will clean my room every morning. Narcissa will introduce you to the head elves tomorrow so that they can teach you how to be silent and productive, understood?"

"Yes, Mistress Bellatrix." Hermione replied, positively bouncing with glee.

Bellatrix nodded and escorted Hermione back to the cellar, taking care to ward the doors because she knew some of the other Death Eaters, having seen Hermione, would try to get at her again and Bellatrix was none too fond of sharing her possessions, especially not this one. Leaving for her room once more, the Dark Witch thought on the girl's strange behavior.

_She will definitely be a force to be reckoned with if we can convert her to our ways. Wandless magic so powerful should only be seen in a pureblood, but having the smartest witch of her age on our side will make due just fine, no matter how filthy the blood. The Order will fall this time._

Cackling to herself at that, Bellatrix settled down for sleep, knowing exactly what she was going to do tomorrow.

* * *

><p>"Please Professor, there must be something you can do to find her?" Ginny pleaded with Professor Dumbledore as Luna stood behind her, wide glassy eyes filled with worry.<p>

"Miss Weasley, I'm sorry, but there is no way to get to Miss Granger at this time. The Order's forces are not nearly large enough to even look for her, let alone get her if she is even still alive."

Ginny's jaw tightened to a painful point when he said that. _She **is** alive, you old fool!_ She wanted to scream. _If you would just listen to me for a moment, you'd understand how important it is for us to find her!_ Instead, Ginny took a deep breath and said, "Yes, Professor. Sorry to have wasted your time."

Professor Dumbledore nodded and watched the two girls leave, wondering at what he had seen within Ginevra's mind. _She believes so strongly that Hermione Granger is still alive. Perhaps if I asked Severus about it…_ Nodding his head, the white-bearded man sent a Patronus out to his fellow teacher. Within minutes, Severus Snape swirled into the room, his eyes surveying Dumbledore curiously.

"Yes, Headmaster?"

"Severus, is there news on Hermione Granger?"

"Yes, Dumbledore. Apparently the little swot has been broken, but in a way we didn't expect."

"How so, Severus?"

"She seems to have reverted back to being almost like a child. According to Bellatrix's thoughts, which are not easy to siphon through, by the way, Miss Granger has retained her immense intelligence, but her mind has blocked off nearly all of her memories."

"How intriguing. Do you know what they plan to do with her?"

"They are training her to be their servant. She is being put through training by Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Black to be a faithful servant to the Dark Lord's most faithful. Did you know that she taught herself wandless magic?"

"What?" Dumbledore asked in surprise.

"Something you didn't know, headmaster?" Severus sneered. "It seems ever since her Second year, Hermione Granger had been teaching herself wandless magic within the walls of Hogwarts. She is so powerful that she can produce a Patronus without a single happy thought in her head. She simply has to quickly clear her mind and say the incantation."

"She truly is a very powerful witch."

"We must get her back, Headmaster, before the Dark Lord realizes the true extent of her power."

"What do you mean, Severus?"

"I didn't call her an insufferable know-it-all for nothing, Headmaster. There is only a select group of people that can fight against Hermione Granger and walk away without a mark, there are fewer normal wizards and even the seventh years cannot do it. And that is when she is calm and simply practice-dueling. When she is angry, she becomes a force to be reckoned with. Think about if she has no control over that anger. The control she had here was the only thing stopping her from ripping the school apart every time she was upset. Take away that control and no one stands a chance."

Dumbledore thought on the extent of his words and realized that he was right. Hermione Granger had impeccable control over her magic, to the poinit of being a ball of energy whenever she was upset, but she never released that energy. If she no longer had that control and she was being trained by the most infamous witches in the Wizard World… no one would be safe from the Dark Lord.

Snape noticed that Dumbledore had reached the same conclusion he had and together the two men stated, "We must get her back."

* * *

><p>Hermione grunted and whimpered in her sleep as more memories assaulted her. A dark-skinned Mudblood boy, an Irish wizard, a dark-skinned African girl with plaited braid, another girl who looked just like the first with a blue tie rather than a red one, several people on broomsticks in silver and green robes, a large ball called a bludger, a small elf with large ears and a high voice, a room with large dummies all around, a large man with lots of hair… so many faces, so many people…<p>

_Hermione attempted to duck as the jinx came at her, but she had no luck as it hit her square in the mouth. Crying out, she held her hand to her mouth and looked for any escape. The Weasel pulled her hand away from her mouth before she could get away and showed her mouth to all of the Slytherins. _

**_Moron!_**_ She though in panic as she looked once more for a way out. _

_Racing to the Hospital Wing, she simply showed Madame Pomfrey her teeth and the nurse nodded, sitting her down at a bed and attending to Goyle. Hermione felt her teeth nearly reaching her breast before the nurse finally made it to her. She could feel the hurt she felt. _

**_How could Ron be so stupid as to move my hand away with the Slytherins right there? How could Professor Snape be such a cruel man to me? Why is it always me? I always get the backlash._**

Hermione whimpered, tears falling down her cheeks as she rolled over in her sleep and the dream changed.

_Hermione stared at her reflection and wondered what to do with herself. She was completely naked in front of the mirror, trying to figure out how to get ready for the ball. Deciding to go from top to bottom, she pulled out a special potion to make her hair straight and began applying it to the bushy curls; in a matter of minutes her hair was soaked in the substance and she let it set to dry before beginning on her face. Gently applying a small amount of blush, Hermione added glitter sparkle above her eyes and tan eyeliner to accentuate her brown eyes. Spraying a bit of coconut-scented perfume on her neck, the brunette rubbed it onto her wrists. Moving lower, Hermione donned a white corset with black frills at the hem and red lace on the top. she moved into her boy briefs and pulled the dress out of the box._

_She had bought it because it was a nice dress, but some of the details about it weren't quite right. First off, there was a large bow at the waist that made it look too girly. Hermione meticulously severed the bow and repaired the stitching. Then she changed the dress' color from ugly gray to a deep crimson. Scanning it, she tried again for a baby blue color. Again, it didn't suit her liking, so Hermione changed it once more to a shimmering pink. It was almost perfect. The only thing that had to be done was to make the sleeves shorter. Eyeing the lacy material around the shoulders, Hermione decided that those would be enough and no sleeves were needed. Severing the sleeves, Hermione let the lacy material flow and surveyed the dress._

_Nodding to herself, Hermione checked her hair. Taking it out of the ponytail she'd put it in, Hermione let it flow down her back and found that it was completely straight. Smiling, she began braiding it, letting the braid go all the way down her back before flipping it to the front. Hermione grinned and looked at the time; to her surprise, the clock was just going on six. She had an hour before the ball started and she had been getting ready for two hours. Shrugging, Hermione went back to preparing._

_Now that her hair had been done, she painted her nails a nice light pink color to match the shimmering color of her dress. Grinning she charmed them dry and gently slipped into her dress. Twirling in front of the mirror, Hermione couldn't have been happier with her reflection. Slipping into a pair of pink flats, she nodded and began thinking about what was to happen that night. Smiling happily, Hermione slowly crept out into the common room for a moment and looked around at everyone before deciding to go back up to her room to await the stroke of seven fifty-five._

_When it was time and Hermione heard no more voices in the common room, she slipped down the stairs and glided down the hall to the grand staircase. Appearing at the top, she smiled down at everyone, showing off the teeth that she had gotten straightened. The hall hushed slightly as murmuring ensued about her appearance and Hermione couldn't help but feel proud of herself for managing to get such a reaction._

Hermione groaned, sighing at the much happier memory, the tears still on her cheeks, but no longer flowing.

_Hermione whimpered as she felt perfect teeth nipping at her jugular. Moaning happily she rolled her head to the side to give the person more access to her throat and was rewarded by those same teeth digging into the side of her neck. "Oh Fleur." She groaned, her hand coming up to tangle in blonde locks happily. _

_"Ma Cherie, you taste so… good." The throaty French accent sent Hermione's body aflame and she quickly pulled the blonde up for a passionate kiss, panting heavily as she thrust her tongue into the other girl's mouth. Suddenly, a gasp filled the air and Hermione pulled back to see a flash of red disappearing down the hall. Noting that it was too short to be one of the boys, Hermione felt her heart tug to know it had been Ginny. _

_Fleur had watched the girl run off and turned to Hermione. "A friend of yours?" she inquired. _

_"Yeah…" Hermione felt her heart tug again and looked up to the smiling French witch. _

_"Go to her. I understand." _

_"Thank you, Fleur. I'll talk to you soon." _

_"Oui, ma cherie. Just make sure to tell me before'and whezzer or not I am allowed to kiss you upon greeting." With a wink and a wave, Fleur was gone and Hermione quickly went after Ginny._

Bellatrix cocked her head to the side at the memories. None of them having anything to do with the order, but very informative nonetheless. _So she was having an affair with the blonde Veela, but left the Veela for the Weasel girl to confess her love? Such an odd Mudblood I have._ Deciding that now was as good a time as any, Bellatrix raised her wand and issued a loud bang. Instantly, the Mudblood lying on the floor jumped to her feet in a fighting stance before turning her attention and smiling at Bellatrix.

"Good morning, Mistress!" Hermione beamed, bouncing over and kneeling in front of the black-haired witch.

"Look at you, such an obedient pet. You remembered your lesson from yesterday."

"Yes Mistress." Hermione replied, waiting for a signal to stand. Bellatrix tapped her head and Hermione stood, her eyes sparkling in delight at what was going to happen today. "Do I get to see the elves today, Mistress?" she inquired, energy just bubbling off of her.

"Indeed you do, pet. But first, Mistress Bellatrix is feeling frisky. I'm thinking we should teach you how to please your mistress before talking with the elves." Hermione followed her mistress in confusion, wondering what the Dark Witch meant when she said that. Coming to the classroom, Bellatrix smiled wickedly at the Mudblood's innocent look and stated, "You are a Mudblood, correct?"

"Yes Mistress." Hermione replied dutifully.

"Most Mudblood's are whores because they cannot get anywhere in the Wizard World due to blood status." Bellatrix lied smoothly. "You are fortunate enough that I happened upon you otherwise, that would be your fate as well. You are going to please me."

"P-please you, Mistress? But how do I do that?" The look of utter bewilderment upon the girl's face was enough to make Bellatrix cackle with glee.

"I will show you, pet. You see, Muddy, I am going to derive my pleasure from you. All you have to do is lie down and let me do as I wish. Understood?"

Hermione gulped, but when she looked up at Bellatrix, her eyes were full of trust. "Yes, Mistress Bellatrix, I understand."

Bellatrix had to force herself to swallow at such a look. No one ever looked at her that way anymore. "Lie down, Muddy." Hermione did as told and Bellatrix surveyed her intently.

"Alright, Mudblood, are you ready?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes Mistress Bellatrix."

Bellatrix climbed atop her submissive pet and began kissing roughly at her throat. Hermione whimpered slightly and twitched. Massaging a perky breast, Bellatrix's fingers rubbed, pinched and tweaked a pink peak before she kissed down her body and wrapping her mouth around the other nipple. Hermione's head fell back as a loud moan escaped her. Heat was rushing to the place between her legs and tingles erupted all over her body. Bellatrix moved back and forth between the two peaks as Hermione moaned and writhed beneath her, panting from the ecstasy rushing through her.

Finally, one of Bellatrix's hands traveled down Hermione's body, delving between her legs and swiftly entering her with two fingers. The younger girl's body jerked and her hands clenched instinctively; one tangled in her own hair and the other grasped Bellatrix's back needily. Bellatrix smirked at her pet, thrusting steadily and twisting her wrist so as to literally screw the lighter brunette senseless. The tingles within Hermione's body were getting stronger and coming from everywhere now, even her head.

Suddenly, Hermione froze and Bellatrix felt her walls clenching down on her fingers. Her back arched and her eyes rolled as her body shook and warm liquid gushed over Bellatrix's fingers. The Dark Witch waited until the girl had released her fingers before sucking them and suppressing a moan at the absolute sweetness of the nectar. Hermione was shaking from aftershocks and Bellatrix didn't make it any better by going down and licking her clean.

"T-that didn't feel l-like what Mister Dolohov did to m-me." Hermione murmured, looking up at her mistress breathlessly.

"That's because men don't know how to please a woman. They only think of what they like rather than trying to get into our heads to find out what we like."

Hermione nodded in understanding and Bellatrix went about tidying herself up. Narcissa strode into the room a moment later and glanced at the still weak girl on the floor and sighed.

"Scourgify."

Hermione felt herself get cleaned and slowly got to her knees in front of Narcissa.

"Really, Bella, you couldn't clean her before I came in?"

Bellatrix shrugged, brushing herself off calmly. "Are you ready to take her to meet the elves?"

"Yes, Prance is ready for her."

"Make it quick. The Dark Lord expects to see her at the meeting in half an hour."

"Understood Bella. Come along, Mudblood."

"Coming, Miss Narcissa." Hermione hugged Bellatrix good bye and bounced after the blonde witch, leaving a stunned black-haired Dark Witch in her wake. Trailing after Miss Narcissa, Hermione watched the Death Eaters around her warily. After the day before, she was not taking any chances with the men around her, keeping close to Narcissa.

Narcissa took the Mudblood to the kitchens and called, "Prance!"

An elf with a towel wrapped around her waist and a shredded pillowcase around her chest appeared and bowed to Narcissa. "Yes, Miss?" the elf inquired.

"This is our new Mudblood slave." Narcissa told the elf calmly, gesturing to Hermione. "We need you to teach her how to be… like the house elves. To be silent and unseen in order to clean Miss Bella's room."

Hermione's ears tingled. _Miss Bella? That's pretty. Bella. Bella. Bella…_ The name roved around in her mind for a while as Narcissa explained the situation to Prance.

"Mudblood." Hermione snapped to attention as Narcissa turned to her.

"Yes, Miss Narcissa?" Hermione inquired.

"You are going to meet with Prance tomorrow morning to go over the majority. For now, she is going to teach you the basics, understood?"

"Yes, Miss Narcissa." The brunette replied excitedly.

"Yous be comin' this way, Miss." Prance told her, taking her hand and leading her to a more secluded place of the kitchen. "Alright, Miss, you be having you wand?"

"Wand?" Hermione cocked her head. "No, I don't have my wand."

"Well yous need it to be apparating, Miss."

"Apparate?" Hermione inquired.

"Like this, Miss." Prance snapped her fingers and disappeared before reappearing behind Hermione with a soft popping sound.

The startled witch turned and asked, "How did you do that?"

"That be apparatin', Miss." Prance replied, feeling slightly prideful that she was being gawked at in awe.

"Can I learn that?"

"Sure, Miss. Just be thinkin' of a place you wanna go, Miss, and you be there, Miss. I thinks wizards and witches have to turn on the spot though, Miss."

Narcissa watched curiously, wondering how well the Mudblood would do on her first try. Hermione nodded to Prance and slowly thought of a place. Without thinking, Mistress Bellatrix's room came to mind and Hermione turned, feeling herself begin suffocating as she did so. When she came out of the suffocating darkness, she fell to her knees, gasping for breath. Suddenly, an excruciating pain hit her and she shook and screamed for mercy. A black hair-lined face appeared above her as the curse was lifted and Hermione brightened at the sight of her mistress.

"What are you doing here?" the Dark Witch demanded, her wand at the ready.

"I was learning how to apparate, Mistress." The lighter brunette replied, slowly getting to her knees.

"Why?"

"So that I could be like the elves. Able to go anywhere to clean and help."

Bellatrix sighed and lifted the Mudblood. "Come along, I'm certain my sister is wondering where you've gone."

Hermione held tight to Bellatrix as she was taken down to the kitchens, Death Eaters staring in shock to see their comrade and the most psychotic, evil witch in the Wizarding World, **carrying** a _Mudblood_ down the hall. Bellatrix arrived at the kitchens and found Narcissa questioning Prance on where the Mudblood had gone. Narcissa raised her wand to curse the elf, but Bellatrix called, "Cissy!"

The blonde witch turned and let out a breath of relief at seeing the Mudblood in her sister's arms. "Where did you find her, Bella?"

"She apparated into my room." the Dark Witch replied.

"Mudblood, is that where you intended to be?" Narcissa inquired, turning her gaze to the Mudblood in her sister's arms.

"Yes, I imagined Mistress Bellatrix's bedroom, like Prance told me to and then I turned and suffocated."

"Did you splinch?"

"Splinch?" Hermione cocked her head, not recognizing the term.

Narcissa raked her eyes over the Mudblood's form and found that she was completely unharmed, she was fine. "Bella, she didn't splinch herself."

"So?" Bellatrix inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Bella, that was her first time apparating."

Bellatrix's eyes widened in utter shock and she stared hard at the Mudblood. _Her first time apparating and she made it from here to my bedroom. Most students can't even make it to the hoop the first time. She must be one exceptional Mudblood in order to be able to do that._

"Cissy," Bellatrix cleared her throat. "I'm going to go take the Mudblood to get dressed, understood?"

"Yes, Bella. I'll stay here and go over the plans for her teachings with Pance."

Bellatrix nodded and carried Hermione back up to her bedroom. Sifting through her old clothing, the Dark Witch came up with an old skirt and a tank top of sorts. Shredding the skirt slightly, she tossed it to the Mudblood along with the tank top. The Mudblood slowly picked up the garments and eyed them distastefully. Watching to see what the girl would do, Bellatrix stared in surprise as the girl used a wandless sliving hex to cut the skirt much shorter and do the same with the tank top, slipping into both. The top was now little more than a bra and the skirt just barely reached midthigh.

Shaking her head to clear her shock, Bellatrix picked the girl back up and carried her through the halls once more, heading to see the man that would make or break the girl's fate. Or so she thought.

* * *

><p><strong><em>There y'all go. Hermione's getting her lessons and Bellatrix is having fun. We see a bit of what Dumbledore and Snape are thinking of. What do they mean, Hermione's more powerful than Dumbledore himself thought? Could the Dark Lord really know about it? Find out next chapter! Just make sure to review for me, my fine people.<em>**

**_Also, kudos to anyone who recognizes that scene with Hermione preparing for the Yule Ball._**


	11. Meetings

**_I don't own Harry Potter, be it series, movies or idea._**

**_Alright, yes, I'm back and no not for long. July is when I do my summer homework, sorry. _**

**_Spoiler: Now, I hope you all aren't offended by what I'm about to let you read. If you've been reading this far, you'll understand that I have Ginny pinning a lot of the blame (not all, but a lot) on Harry. Well, in this chapter, she places some of it on Dumbledore and Ron as well. She also yells at her mother. So, if you are a big Dumbledore fan, don't read that part. If you're a big Harry fan, don't read that part. _**

**_Also, for my friend ShadowCub... we can argue our points later. ;)_**

**_Thanks guys and enjoy the chapter!_**

* * *

><p>Bellatrix carried Hermione into the drawing room and the teen's eyes quickly assessed the situation, especially when her eyes fell on the Dark Lord.<p>

"Pet?" The Mudblood switched her gaze to Bellatrix. "Do you know who that is?"

"Yes Mistress." The girl nodded eagerly. "That's your master, Lord Vol-."

"No!" Bellatrix hissed, her hand coming up to slap across Hermione's cheek. The brunette fell silent, looking up at her mistress with wide brown eyes. "You will call him the Dark Lord, understood?"

"Yes Mistress." The Mudblood smiled, though her eyes were a bit frightened. _As she should be._ Bellatrix thought.

"Good Pet. Go kneel before him." Hermione scrambled out of her owner's grasp and knelt before Voldemort, head bowed in submission.

"My, my, Bella," the Dark Lord murmured. "It seems you've trained her very well. Very well indeed."

"Thank you, My Lord." Bellatrix replied with a head bow.

"However, her obedience is useless if it has caused her to lose her intelligence." Hermione gave the smallest of twitches, but remained where she was. "Stand Mudblood." Hermione got gracefully to her feet, her short skirt fluttering slightly.

"How much do you remember from Hogwarts: A History?" Voldemort inquired.

"Everything, Dark Lord including the fact that I've read it fifty-three and a half times."

"Hm, perhaps not something so broad. Very well, what do you know about basilisks?"

"They are born from the egg of a boa constrictor, but nursed by a bull frog. They kill with one look and if you see them in a mirror or reflective surface, then you become paralyzed. Basilisks live for thousands of years and can grow to enormous lengths and heights. They were forbidden from being bred during medieval times because most enemies or even owners of the basilisks could not get close enough to it to kill it if need be. The last known basilisk was killed by Halfblood Potter in the Chamber of Secrets with the Sword of Gryffindor."

"Very good, Mudblood. Your intelligence seems to have survived your personality change." Hermione smiled happily and her eyes twinkled as she gave the Dark Lord a head bow.

"Bellatrix, how did you train her?" Yaxley asked curiously.

"Dom and Psyche is how I broke her and after that, I just reshaped her views." Bellatrix replied proudly.

"Excellent methods for breaking one so headstrong." Voldemort nodded in approval.

"Granger wasn't headstrong." Snape snarled.

"Quite the contrary, Severus." Voldemort told him. "Bella how long has it been since you captured our resident Mudblood?"

"Eight months, My Lord."

"And how long did it take to break her this completely?"

"All the way until two days ago, My Lord."

"She gave up hope." Snape pointed out.

"Mudblood?" Hermione gazed at Voldemort intently. "Do you still have hope your friends will come for you?"

Hermione's face paled as she glanced nervously at Bellatrix. "Y-yes, Dark Lord, I still have hope that Halfblood and Weasel will come for me, though I'm still not sure why." Hermione snuck a peek at Bellatrix to see her mistress giving her an approving nod.

"Did you consider lying to me, Mudblood?" Voldemort asked calmly.

Hermione pouted and nodded, saying, "Yes, Dark Lord."

"But you did not?"

"No Dark Lord."

"And why not?"

"Because Mistress Bellatrix wouldn't like it if I lied." the young witch replied matter- of-factly.

"Interesting, indeed. She is very well-trained, Bellatrix." The Dark Witch's eyes glittered with content.

Hermione glanced to her mistress to find Bellatrix giving her a prideful look and the young woman felt her confidence returning slowly. Voldemort stared at her for a moment, his hand on his chin. Shifting his weight slightly, he pinned the girl in his red gaze. She stared at him levelly and the Dark Lord wondered why she didn't cringe away or lower her gaze.

Feeling emboldened by her refusal to look down, he inquired, "Tell me, Mudblood. In these past few days, have you ever thought of joining our forces?"

The Mudblood cocked her head. "No, Dark Lord."

"Have you ever thought of being in my service?"

"No, Dark Lord."

"Have you ever thought of me becoming your master?"

"My… Master?" Hermione repeated in confusion. "But Bellatrix is my mistress. I belong to her."

Voldemort's eyes tilted as though he were raising an eyebrow. "You are loyal to those you care about, yet you stay here with Bella despite the fact that you are a master at wandless magic. Why do you insist on being hers?"

"I…" Hermione stopped, unsure of how to answer. Why did she prefer being with the black-haired witch rather than going to the other Death Eaters? Bellatrix was probably the most dangerous of them all and definitely the craziest. Why did she stay with her?

"I'm not sure why I stay with her, Dark Lord." Hermione said slowly. "Mistress Bellatrix just makes me want to stay."

Voldemort nodded, watching the young witch closely. She was completely serious and this puzzled him. No one that his Death Eaters had punished and tortured ever wanted to stay and most hadn't lasted as long as this Mudblood had. The girl must have been quite the force to be reckoned with if her marks were any indication, both in school and on her body. Bellatrix still didn't let her wear very much clothing, but the Mudblood was not at all bothered by this fact, actually preferring it to the dressed state she saw most of the Death Eaters around her in.

_She willingly gives herself up for our cruelty and she has no idea why._ The Dark Lord mused. _Well, perhaps we haven't shown her all of the cruelty we have; she **did** lose her memories after all. Very well then. Over time, she'll begin to see what a good master I would be to her. For now, I'll let her play with Bella._

Voldemort nodded and raised his hand, beckoning Bellatrix forward. The Dark Witch was all too eager to move closer to her lord and she grinned maniacally when she stood before him.

"Bella, you and Narcissa are doing very well. Your Mudblood is allowed to clean any room she wishes so long as it does not upset Narcissa's elves, understood? And make certain that she cleans in here. The dust is starting to get into the fabric of my chair."

Bellatrix bowed her head and placed a hand on the Mudblood's neck, her grin getting wider. "Yes, My Lord." She replied, guiding the Mudblood back to the place she herself had been standing at. Rabastian glared at the youngest witch and Bellatrix caught the look, casting him a smug smile as she stood protectively in front of Hermione.

Neither Voldemort nor Bellatrix noticed Severus Snape's gaze linger on Hermione, but the young witch could feel her skin crawling and glanced up to meet the coal black eyes. The two kept their gazes locked for a moment until Hermione broke the connection by looking to the side as a few Snatchers walked in with some goods to share.

Snape lowered his head slightly as he continued to survey the girl less openly. _She's gaining power._ He thought worriedly. _I can feel it and soon enough, the Dark Lord will be able to as well. I have to warn Albus before she begins manifesting the power in front of the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord himself._

* * *

><p>Severus Snape walked quickly down a corridor, his bat-like robes fluttering behind him as he hurried toward his destination. Finding himself safely outside the gates, Snape apparated away from the manor and hit a series of points just in case he was followed. Arriving safely at the Burrow, he knocked three times fast, four slow, and two fast.<p>

There was a slight scuffling before a voice called, "Who goes there?"

"Severus Snape." The bat-like man replied.

"How often do you wash your hair?" the voice inquired.

"Very funny, Mr. Weasley. That is none of your business."

"That's him alright." One of the Weasley twins chuckled, the door opening a moment later to reveal both of them in their pajamas.

"What can we do for you, Professor?" one of them asked.

"I need to send a message to Headmaster Dumbledore and I trust your fireplace the most since this is our new headquarters."

"Yes, Professor." The twins moved aside and allowed the black-haired man entrance. Snape hurried into the sitting room where the rest of the Weasleys were lounging around the fire. Harry and Ron were playing Wizard's Chess, Ginny and Luna were reading together by the fire, Mrs. Weasley was knitting and Arthur had a copy of the Daily Prophet in his hands.

All of them looked up at Snape as he made his way to the fire. Luna and Ginny rolled to the side to give him space. He grabbed a fistful of Floo Powder from his pocket and threw it into the fire. "Headmaster's office at Hogwarts." He said clearly before sticking his head in. The baffled family watched in curiosity as Snape waited for Dumbledore to notice him.

"Albus, we have trouble." He called to the silver-haired man at the desk.

"Of what sort, Severus?" Dumbledore inquired, looking up quickly.

"I need you here as soon as possible."

Dumbledore knew that Severus meant business if he didn't say something right away. Standing, he ordered, "Call to as many of the Order members as you can and have them meet at the Burrow. I will be there when I have contacted as many as I can as well."

"Yes, Headmaster."

Snape pulled his head out of the fire and commenced conjuring Patronus after Patronus, sending them all off to members of the Order, telling them to arrive quickly. Harry cocked his head and stood, green eyes surveying the greasy-haired man suspiciously. "Why do you need Dumbledore?" the boy demanded none-too-politely.

"It's Order business, boy. Either you'll know when Dumbledore gets here or you'll be excluded from the meeting. No matter either way, the members are on theirs."

The family sat in agitation and anxiety for several long minutes until Dumbledore finally strode in with the Order members all on his tail.

"Severus." The old man called. "What is the problem?"

"Remember when we discussed Hermione Granger?" Snape inquired, to a mixed gasp from Ginny, Luna and a few others of the Order.

"Yes?" Dumbledore replied, not paying the people around them any mind.

"It's growing." Dumbledore's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, so Snape clarified, "Getting stronger and I could easily sense it." Dumbledore nodded in understanding. "Headmaster, we need to get her out of there before it makes itself known. Otherwise, we're all doomed… perhaps including her."

* * *

><p>Bellatrix led her Mudblood through the corridors and hallways to her own bedchambers. Hermione looked around in confusion and turned to her mistress. "Am I not going back to my room, Mistress?" she asked slowly.<p>

"Not tonight, Pet. Tomorrow. Tonight, I wish to reward you for your good behavior before the Dark Lord."

Bellatrix put a hand on Hermione's chest and pushed her backwards onto the bed. The lighter brunette looked up at the Dark Witch as Bellatrix waved her wand. "Divestoria."

Hermione watched in awe as her clothing tore at whatever seams were left, moved away, reattached and folded itself neatly. Using her inventory of a mind, Hermione quickly filed the spell away for possible later use.

Bellatrix watched the intuitive look play across the girl's place and knew, even without dipping into her mind, that the Mudblood was enjoying learning the new spell. Climbing atop the now naked young woman, Bellatrix stared down at her, wondering what she should do to her first. Deciding to start from the top and work her way down, talon-like nails stroked along a pale throat and to two plump breasts. Hermione arched into her touch, enjoying the feel of having her mistress' hands on her sensitive mounds of flesh.

"Mistress." She moaned, brown eyes finding the coal black of her owner's. Bellatrix kneaded the skin roughly, digging her nails into the girl's nipples to further draw pain, but it seemed not to register with the Mudblood. She instead moaned and gasped at what Bellatrix was doing to her.

The Dark Witch cocked her head before realizing that the Mudblood hadn't been marked yet. A slow sadistic smile spread across the older witch's face as she leaned down. She made certain to appear gentle as she kissed her way from her pet's jaw to her throat. Hermione could feel heat building between her legs as her mistress traced circles along her pale skin with her tongue, wet trails causing goosebumps.

Bellatrix felt the Mudblood squirming with pleasure and she dragged her nails down the girl's body, digging in deeper in some places than others. The Mudblood arched her back, enjoying the touch. Bellatrix gave a soft cackle and prepared herself. Suddenly thrusting three fingers into the girl's tight core, she opened her mouth and took a large section of the Mudblood's throat into her mouth, biting down viciously and almost immediately drawing blood.

The Mudblood screamed out in agony, her eyes rolling with the combined pleasure and pain. Bellatrix felt the filth's walls clamp tight around her and cocked her head, pulling back to watch as the girl shook and screeched in orgasm. _She… she got **pleasure** from it? _The Dark Witch wondered incredulously. _She came from the pain **and** the pleasure?_

Hermione noticed her mistress watching her and wondered if she had done something wrong._ Perhaps I'm supposed to do it to her as well. _The younger witch thought to herself. Nodding slowly, Hermione pushed Bellatrix backward and pointed a finger at the darker brunette's clothing. "Divestoria." She stated simply, watching in childish glee as the spell worked just the way she had hoped it would.

Bellatrix watched the excitement play in the brown eyes and mused on what could have her Mudblood so happy. She was interrupted from her thoughts a moment later when the Mudblooded filth reached out a tentative hand and began rubbing semi-roughly against her breasts, being unsure of what to do._ She's learning at the very least. _Bellatrix nodded in approval and gave one order. "Harder." Hermione looked up at her mistress and saw the command in her eyes. Nodding, the young witch pressed the soft mounds harder within her grasp, causing a slight gasp from the Dark Witch beneath her.

Bellatrix looked up at the Mudblood and realized that the girl was above her._ No **filth** is above **me**. _She growled mentally as she switched their positions into one where she was kneeling above Hermione's head. "Do good, Pet, and I may give you an extra treat with your dinner."

Hermione perked up and looked to her mistress' center above her. Thinking quickly, the lighter brunette pressed her tongue against the wet pinkness above her. Bellatrix jerked in surprise and moaned. Hermione, encouraged, flicked her tongue quickly over the pinkness until it met something slightly harder than the rest. She poked the bump with her tongue and felt her mistress jerk harder than the first time. Emboldened, the lighter-haired woman poked the nub again before flicking her tongue over it quickly.

Bellatrix's fingers closed in bushy brown tresses as she felt her peak coming_. _Her last thought before dragon flame burst before her eyes was, _The girl's a natural_. Screaming and thrashing, Bellatrix was powerless to stop her Mudblood as Hermione kept going, wanting to please her mistress and not knowing when to stop. By the time she felt her tongue getting sore from all the movement, Bellatrix was nearing passing out. The Dark Witch collapsed onto the bed beside her pet and lay there, panting as she waited for her vision to clear.

Hermione, thinking she'd done something wrong, looked over to her owner in worry."Mistress?" she inquired slowly. "Mistress, are you alright?"

Bellatrix didn't respond, too lost in her thoughts._ I haven't had a release like that since Hogwarts with Rabastian. This girl's a natural. I'm definitely paying visits to the cellar more often when I'm frustrated. _Looking up, Bellatrix saw worried brown eyes staring at her in fear._ She must think she's done something wrong. _The Dark Witch mused amusedly._ Foolish, filthy, little girl. _"That was good for a Mudblood." The Dark Witch murmured, reaching out to tug the girl's hair. "You did well, Pet. You're sleeping on the floor next to the bed."

"Yes, Mistress." Hermione rolled off the bed and onto the floor, sitting cross-legged and waiting for her mistress to arise.

"Your dinner will come in an hour, understood?"

"Yes Mistress."

"And then you are to report to Prance for a few minutes to go over how your lesson plans will go."

"Yes Mistress."

"Good, now go learn the manor and leave me to sleep."

"Yes, Mistress." Hermione stood and bounced out the door as Bellatrix rolled over and sank into the pillows._ My Lord's best gift to me yet. _She thought, sinking also into slumber.

* * *

><p>Dumbledore and Snape stood before the other members of the Order, speaking of how they've gotten information that Hermione was still alive. Ginny shot a smug look at her brother and Ron retaliated with a heated glare. Harry shifted uncomfortably when Ginny's smirk made its way to his direction and Ginny turned a smile to Luna. "She's still alive." The redhead whispered happily.<p>

"Yes, it's about time they believed us." Luna agreed.

Molly, watching from across the room, narrowed her eyes in rage at the sight of her daughter sitting so close to another girl. _Didn't she learn from Hermione getting kidnapped? Nothing good happens to people like that._

Deciding to make a point known, the Weasley Matriarch called, "But Albus, how do we know for certain that she's still alive? For all we know, in the time it took to get this all set up, they could have killed her. The Dark Lord may have killed her or that bitch could have tortured her into insanity and given her a mercy killing. Or gotten bored with her and simply flicked her wand with boredom. I mean, with _her_ kind, I wouldn't doubt it."

"What's wrong with _her_ kind?" Ginny snarled, glaring at her mother. "What _kind_ does Hermione have?"

"Oh come off it!" Molly snapped. "Everyone knows lesbians don't get anywhere in life. She'd end up being a prostitute!"

"Not entirely true, Molly." Emmaline told her, raising an eyebrow as she and Hestia intertwined their fingers.

Molly quickly backpedaled. "Well, er, that is to say, uh, well, two purebloods having their, er, interests is, uh-."

"Wait!" Ginny shouted. "Wait just a minute! When it's two _purebloods_ it's okay, but when a _Muggbleborn_ does it, it's heinous and she'll go to hell? You fucking hypocrite!"

"Don't you talk to me that way!" Molly yelled.

"And why not?" Ginny demanded. "You are! It's because she's _Muggleborn_, not because she's a girl. You're fighting a bloody war for Muggleborns and you're prejudiced against them? You're a fucking hypocrite!"

"It doesn't matter because she's probably dead anyway."

"She's not dead!" Ginny roared, leaping to her feet and glaring stunners into her mother.

"You can't know that for certain!" Molly shrieked, also getting to her feet and facing her daughter.

It was an interesting sight to say the least. Ginny was a good head shorter than her mother, but her hair was longer. Molly's face was beet red with anger, but Ginny's hair was beginning to lift with the power of her magic. Mother and daughter faced each other with blazing eyes as they faced off.

"I can too!" Ginny screamed, air around her crackling. "I can feel it!"

"What do you mean, you can 'feel it'?" Molly screeched in rage. "Only people who have done blood pacts can sense things about another person! You did Dark Magic blood pacts with her? She beguiled you into doing Dark Magic!"

"It's not Dark Magic because we didn't need blood!" Ginny retorted. "I can just feel it!"

"Bet ya felt a lot of things from her, didn't you?" Ron taunted, making Ginny round on him.

"You shut your mouth!" she hissed. "You didn't feel half as much as I did from her!"

"And what was that?" Ron demanded, standing to tower over his sister. "How often were you in her bed?"

"For your information-."

"That's none of your business." Luna interrupted, moving beside Ginny.

Ron glared contemptuously at the blonde and sneered, "How do we know _you_-." He would have continued, but Ginny quickly silenced him with a punch to his nose. As Ron stumbled into his twin brothers, Harry stepped up.

"Stop it!" he called. "Stop fighting! We have to save Hermione!"

"Oh what the hell do you care?" Ginny turned to him with tears of rage and anguish spilling from her eyes. "You said it yourself, you don't want her back. None of you do! None of you care about her the way I did! None of you have tried looking for her, have you? _Have you?_"

The adults around her shifted uncomfortably and more than a few mumbled about Harry being safe and not having time. Ginny glared around at all of them. "No, you haven't. Why? Because you're looking after the boy who was enough of an idiot to fall for a trap because he's too hotheaded and stubborn to _think_ before he acts. Tell us, _Harry_, what the bloody hell has kept you alive all these years?" Ginny demanded, rounding on the green-eyed boy.

"Professor Dumbledore has!" Harry replied indignantly. "If he hadn't-."

"Hadn't what?" Ginny snarled. "Hadn't _left_ the school just as Voldemort was ready to attack? Hadn't let the ministry take an innocent man to prison? Hadn't let a bloody alleged _murderer_ wander around campus? Hadn't let an imposter teach students and given him direct access to you? Hadn't been daft enough to let the bloody ministry take over Hogwarts for a year?"

By now, Ginny was advancing on Harry from across the room and the look in her eyes read murder. Luna quickly slipped her wand from her pocket and held it aloft just in case the redhead attempted to do something worse than her usual bat boogey jinx.

"It wasn't _Dumbledore_ who kept you alive, you blundering, self-righteous, pampered moron! It was _Hermione!_ Had she not been sharp of tongue, you would probably have been suspended first year and _only_ suspended because you're the headmaster's _pet!_ She saved everyone's arse in second year by figuring out the damned basilisk. When the bloody Time Turner was given to her, even though Dumbledore told you what to do, she still had to be there to save your miserable life from Professor Lupin. She saved your arse on countless occasions during fourth year and she was the one who came up with the disguised galleons. _Hermione's_ kept you alive! _HERMIONE!_"

"She only kept him alive for her own gain!" Molly shrieked, stepping in. "She just wanted the fame of being known as Harry Potter's best friend. She's just like all the other Mudbloods that get close to him."

Ginny's eyes widened and seemed to encompass her entire face as a deafening silence rang after Molly's exclamation. The entire Order stared at her incredulously and it took her a moment to realize exactly what she had called Hermione. "I-I didn't m-mean-."

"No." Ginny said softly, her voice sounding almost calm as her head bowed. "Don't. Just don't. She stayed with Harry and became his friend because she thought she owed it to him for saving her life. And you want to talk about someone craving fame? Look at your youngest son."

Molly tried to apologize once more, but Ginny just held up a hand and turned, walking out of the room and up the stairs to her bedroom, Luna waiting a few moments before beginning to follow. Molly turned to Ron and Harry, watching the emotions of guilt and anger playing on the two boys' faces respectively. She bowed her head for a moment as the silence continued.

After several more long, agonizing moments, Tonks spoke up. "I think we _should_ find her, Dumbledore. Hermione _has_ been Harry's friend, no matter for what reason. And sooner or later, Bellatrix is going to kill her, either because Mione tries to escape or the bitch gets bored."

"Actually, they have no intention whatsoever of letting her go now." Snape told her softly.

"What do you mean?" Hestia inquired.

"It seems that when Miss Black broke Miss Granger through torture, Miss Granger lost all of her vital and trivial memories, dating all the way back into her Muggle life prior to Hogwarts." Dumbledore explained. Several Order members gave sighs of relief or gasps of sympathy.

"Now," Dumbledore went on. "She is being trained by the two most powerful Dark Witches in the Wizarding World in order to become a slave to Bellatrix and, possibly, Lord Voldemort as well."

"Then what's the worth of getting her back?" Dedulus inquired. "She probably has enough knowledge of the Dark Arts to obliterate us."

"They aren't teaching her Dark Magic." Snape snapped, glaring in his direction. "They're teaching her to be a house slave and a bed slave. Because Granger doesn't know any better and has the mind of a child, she accepts it."

"But that is not of the issue just yet." Dumbledore interjected. "We need to get her back because she is beginning to regain her memories and, without knowing, she could tell Bellatrix or Narcissa what she is remembering."

"Then I say we leave her there!" Molly snarled. "She's endangering all our lives by telling them, why don't we leave her there?"

"She is a child!" Snape growled monotonously.

"She's no child!" Molly spat back. "She's seventeen years of age!"

"In her mind she is a child. Would you torture a child out of pure cruelty and hatred? For something they didn't even do?" Molly stopped for a moment and thought about the question, glaring at Snape.

"But if she's spilling our secrets and they can no longer get to us, then why shouldn't we leave her there?" Elphias inquired.

"It's not like we have the resources to save her." Dedulus agreed.

"Because it is of utmost importance we get her back or Lord Voldemort may begin utilizing her mind. If she converted, but against her will, who here will raise a wand against her?" Only a few hands rose and Dumbledore nodded. "She could be a vital part in helping Harry defeat the Dark Lord once and for all."

"But what if she's not?" Molly demanded. "What if she's not and we lose resources because she's useless to us?"

"She is _not_ useless!" Snape hissed.

"Wow, I never thought _you'd_ be sticking up for her, Professor." George chuckled.

Snape turned beady black eyes to him and rolled them. "Miss Granger is an asset, whether you realize it or not, Molly. I will not have you jeopardizing our chances of winning because of your stubborn narrow-mindedness. We must get her back because, believe it or not, the world may actually depend on it." Before anyone could ask what he meant, the greasy-haired man grabbed some Floo powder and threw it into the fire, shouting for the Leaky Cauldron and disappearing.

"Dumbledore, what did he mean, 'the world may actually depend on it'?" Dedulus and Elphias asked, turning to their long-time friend.

"Miss Weasley may have been right, Dedulus." Dumbledore told him. "Ask yourselves this: What _has_ kept Harry alive all these years? I suppose that it wasn't me after all." With that, he too disappeared in a burst of green flame.

Upstairs, Luna felt utterly useless as Ginny paced in front of her, arms waving wildly and hair whirling in all directions.

"…her a Mudblood, anyway?" the young girl shrieked and screamed. "I thought we were fighting for people like Hermione! To keep Muggleborns safe! Instead, we're throwing them all away because of some misplaced beliefs. I mean, there's not one Muggleborn with a good job in the Ministry. Most Muggleborns return to their Muggle lives because the Wizarding World doesn't accept them!

"Muggles have racism that people are fighting against, but what Muggleborns were in the Order before Hermione? Everyone else is either pureblooded or halfblooded. That's unfair. We're fighting for these people and they can't even help us fight for them.

"Ron's a fucking prick for doing this. This is his fault and Harry's fault. Had those two nutters not wanted to go straight into Voldemort's trap, Hermione wouldn't have wanted to keep their suicidal arses safe! And Mum! Mum doesn't care about anything but her damned reputation! So what if I like girls? It's not like… not like…" Ginny collapsed onto the bed in a ball of tears and bawling. "Like Mione and I were going to get married one day!" she screamed.

Luna moved over to her friend and wrapped her up in a hug. "I know, Ginny. I know. But I can feel it, same as you. She's definitely still alive, we just have to find her."

"But they'll just stop us and tell us to let the adults handle it. If we let the adults handle it, she'll be dead by the time we find her."

The blonde shook her head. "They mentioned something about her being trained as a slave. They'll keep a slave alive if she does her job well."

Ginny nodded. "I just want her back safe. I miss her."

"Me too, Ginny." Luna murmured, stroking the red tresses and lulling the ginger to sleep. "Me too."

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><p><strong><em>Sorry about my prejudice, but hey, it's fanfiction. If we couldn't write what was on our minds, what's the point of writing at all? Freedom of the press and freedom of speech are my favorite. Mainly because if someone uses freedom of speech and insults me, then says that hitting them back is assault, I can say, "No, it's freedom of speech. Body language is still a language. Just ask deaf people."<em>**

**_Anyway, sorry to bore you with that, but I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Review and tell me if you liked it, if you didn't and maybe send in any ideas you have or requests to see what happens, yadda yadda, just send some feedback, yeah?_**


	12. Chapter 12

**_I don't own Harry Potter, be it series, movies or idea._**

**_Ah, and here be the next chapter of 'Who Am I, Mistress?' Goddess, you guys have no idea how much I love writing this story. It's like a thrill rush and now I understand why people write stuff with Hermione in it. She's amazing. I've got two other stories with her as well as two new ones right after I upload this chapter here. Anyway, have fun with the chapter, enjoy it._**

**_Special guest appearances: Dolores Umbridge, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, Neville Longbottom_**

**_**_And make sure to vote on the poll on my profile so I know what my readers wanna see next._**_**

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><p>Bellatrix sat on her bed thinking about the past few days. She and Narcissa had been teaching the Mudblood all kinds of forms of serving and catering ethics, even using the elves to help smooth the girl around the edges. The little swot was an exceptionally quick learner, seeming to memorize everything within the blink of an eye and never forgetting it. The elves taught her how to serve tea, Narcissa taught her how to curtsy, Bellatrix herself had shown her exactly how she liked the things in her room to be arranged and on it went. They would each take one third of the Mudblood's teaching and Bellatrix was still being surprised by the results.<p>

The other day, the Mudblood had spilled tea on Narcissa's dress and had promptly conjured a whip, handing it to the blonde woman and kneeling with her back to the Dark Witch. Narcissa hadn't known what to do with the weapon and had instead settled on the Cruciatus Curse for eight seconds, during which, the Mudblood did not scream, but had taken the punishment. Once it was done, she disapparated and reapparated with a new dress in hand, completely identical to the one Narcissa had been wearing. To say that both Black sisters were stunned would have been an understatement as severe as the Imperius Curse.

Now, Bellatrix found herself thinking along different paths. The other Death Eaters were beginning to get restless around the Mudblood and Bellatrix could clearly and easily see their excitement every time the girl passed by. Soon, she knew, they would attempt to make a move on the girl and Bellatrix was none-too-interested in that. She had to figure out a way to make the other Death Eaters see that the Mudblood was hers and that playing with her toy without her permission would garner serious consequences for all involved.

_Perhaps it is time I gave the girl a real mark. Not just the 'Mudblood' carving in her arm or the love bites on her throat, no. She needs an actual brand so that everyone knows she's mine. Perhaps my family insignia? No, that would mark her as any Black's property and with Halfblood out there being the godson of Sirius, that would be too risky. But… if I put a 'B' there, only the spell and myself would know what the 'B' meant. It will naturally mean 'Bellatrix' and I will connect it to the Mudblood mark on her arm, but anyone else who saw it would assume it meant 'Black'. It's worth a shot._

Her mind made up, Bellatrix cleared her throat. "Mudblood!" Bellatrix called evenly.

The girl appeared before her and dropped to her knees, bowing her head before her mistress. "Is there anything I can assist you with, Mistress Bellatrix?" the Mudblood inquired.

"Yes, Mudblood. Stand, I wish to mark you. Hold very still and don't blink. Eye contact is crucial in order for this spell to work."

Hermione nodded and waited for Bellatrix to begin casting the enchantment. The Dark Witch held the Mudblood's eyes to concentrate. The eye contact wasn't actually necessary, but it helped focus the black-haired woman's mind enough for her not to get distracted with how attractive her pet was. Not to mention the enchantment involved a lot of movement and Bellatrix wanted to test the girl on how well she could focus.

Hermione watched her mistress intently, wondering what all of the wand movement was for. Bellatrix kept eye contact with her as her wand remained pointed at the girl's chest. This took utter concentration because one wrong move and the girl's heart would be ripped out.

Hermione felt a slight tingle in a concentrated area on her chest, just above her left breast. The tingle spread along her chest and down to connect to the carving her mistress had made on her arm so long ago. The tingling started out as just that, but it slowly began to intensify until it was beginning to burn. Hermione desperately wanted to cringe away in pain, but her mistress had told her not to lose the eye contact. The burning grew in intensity and it was starting to sting as well as burn. Hermione could feel the tears coming to her eyes, but she didn't dare blink them away for fear of losing the eye contact.

_She is a strong Mudblood._ Bellatrix thought, watching her pet as she began finishing the brand. The girl's eyes were watering from the pain, but even through that she didn't blink, too focused on the order she was given to dare doing such a thing.

Finally, the brand was complete and both witches took a step back to blink and rub their sore eyes. Hermione now turned her eyes to her mistress expectantly, waiting for her next order, just as the elves had taught her to do. "Would Mistress like me to do anything else for her?"

Bellatrix grinned maliciously at what she wanted her newly marked pet to do next, but a twinge from the mark on her left arm rushed the idea from the Dark Witch's mind. "You will serve me later, Pet. Come Muddy, the Dark Lord is calling." Hermione nodded obediently and followed her mistress from the room.

Hermione and Bellatrix entered the drawing room and stood along the wall with the rest of the Death Eaters. Hermione dutifully kept close to Bellatrix as the latter faced the Dark Lord.

Voldemort began speaking slowly, making certain all of his Death Eaters were present as he did so. "It seems that we have acquired a new spy within the Ministry. One that is adamant that we allow her entrance because of her proximity to the old Minister and her ability to always find out information. She will be joining us shortly so that she can either plead her case or be killed for wasting our time."

There was a snicker from several Death Eaters and Hermione wondered what was so funny. Looking up at her mistress, the brunette found the older witch completely disinterested in the thought of having this woman within the ranks. _Does she know who it is then?_ Hermione wondered absently, glancing around at all of the other Death Eaters to gouge their reactions.

Her eyes landed once more on the black-haired upturned nosed man. Images, so many of them, flashed before her eyes. She had taken classes with him, had been the one to stand up for him against Halfblood's accusations a few times and had been his chew toy for as long as she could remember. _Did he not like me?_ She wondered, seeing one particular memory in which he snapped at her during a class involving werewolves. _What have I done to him?_ Looking back through her memories, all Hermione could see were two things; she had set his robes aflame and had stolen ingredients from his storage cabinet. Of course, his name seemed to elude her so she dismissed him after a moment.

Snape raised an eyebrow, seeing that Granger was watching him. _She seems to be remembering me._ He mused. _I do hope that it has nothing to do with the Order or we may have to change locations once more._

Feeling the air for a moment, Snape realized that the girl's power had strengthened during the night. He could almost feel the windy feeling prickling at his skin. _She's getting stronger each day. What nurture is she finding here that she didn't get at Hogwarts? All the insults I sent her way to draw out more and more of her power. They drew out her power, but it's nothing like this. I haven't felt her even close to this powerful since…_ Snape's eyes widened. _Since she fell in love with Ginevra._

Casting a furtive glance to the Dark Lord, the greasy-haired man mentally snorted in contempt. _It seems love can make us stronger. Love is the key to power._

Suddenly, all eyes snapped to the window as a soft klaxon sounded, signaling that someone had just apparated outside the gates. Two Death Eaters were sent to bring in the visitor and returned moments later, making the guest stand in the middle of the room. There, in the center, stood a woman with short mousy hair and a pink cardigan on. She was short and her face resembled something of a toad, her eyes bugging out and her mouth spanning the entire width of her head. Hermione cocked her head in wonder, being unable to see the woman clearly.

The woman in question walked over to Voldemort with a sickly sweet smile upon her face and bowed. "Hello, Dark Lord." She murmured in a high, sweet voice.

"Dolores." Voldemort replied emotionlessly. "You have come to tell us of why you wish to be a part of our forces. As you understand, we have several spies within the Ministry as it is. What makes you any different and any less dispensable than them?"

"I have a close relationship with the Minister." She replied. "I am still his secretary, whether he wants me to be or not. I can provide information that only the Senior Secretary can find out."

"Such as?" the red-eyed man inquired.

"Such as plans on where to station Aurors, where the Order's headquarters may be located, guards set up to catch Death Eaters and Order members alike." Voldemort nodded, leaning back in his chair as he surveyed this woman.

Suddenly, Hermione was hit with a revelation. If she combined that voice with those clothes and that height-. The young witch fell to her knees with a soft grunt, clutching her head as she did so. Bellatrix looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, delving momentarily into her mind. Memories of this woman's cruelties toward her Mudblood placed themselves before the Dark Witch's eyes and Bellatrix's black orbs narrowed in outrage.

Dolores Umbridge turned to the source of the noise like everyone else in the room and her eyes fell on where Hermione was standing back up next to Bellatrix. Toad-like eyes seemed to bug out even more when the short witch recognized who the girl was. Voldemort raised an eyebrow at this reaction and he waited to see what the woman would do.

"She's… but that's… it's a _Mudblood!_" Bellatrix gave a soft cackle at the shocked look upon the woman's face. "Dark Lord, surely I can be of much better use than an impure witch with questionable background. She comes from filth!"

Umbridge waved her wand and Hermione felt as if a rope was pulling her toward the toad-like woman. She came to a halt right in front of the woman. Voldemort noticed Bellatrix about to curse the woman and held up a finger, cautioning her to stop. He wanted to see how far this woman would go. "Whatever position this weakling fills could be better suited for a pureblood or even a halfblood, Dark Lord. Look at her. Such clothing is fit more for a revel than for professional work! She's a disgrace to the entire meaning behind being a Death Eater. Anything she can do, I can do better, trust me. Allow me to demonstrate. Crucio!"

Hermione dropped to the floor, screaming and writhing, unable to form pleas for help as Umbridge cursed her. The curse was lifted eight seconds later and Umbridge waited until Hermione could effectively sit up before administering it once more. It was disgraceful. This toad of a woman thought that she could gain rank within His forces simply by torturing the Mudblood, but she was unaware that both Black sisters were ready to kill her. Bellatrix and Narcissa both were itching to reach for their wands. Bellatrix didn't enjoy seeing someone else playing with _her_ Mudblood without _her_ permission. Narcissa had grown somewhat fond and intrigued by the girl as they taught her different things and watched her learn quickly as well as competently. Neither Black sister was happy at this woman, not one bit.

Voldemort knew that he would not be able to keep Bellatrix back much longer and, once the annoying nuisance of a woman lifted the curse a second time, he called. "Dolores, it is not proper etiquette to play with someone else's toys without their permission."

Umbridge looked up in confusion, her head even cocking to the side. "Toy?" she inquired.

"Why yes. Simply examine her chest if you do not understand."

Umbridge slowly turned her eyes to the panting Mudblood's chest, her eyes roving over the smooth skin. _She is slightly more well-endowed since we last met. Little wretch. Damned centaurs. I'll get her for that. It took me six weeks to recover from that. _Finally, the large eyes found the brand burned into one portion of the skin. The brand that held a large B. The brand that held the words 'toujours pur' beneath the large B.

"Toujours pur." Umbridge murmured slowly. She gulped when she realized what that meant. "That's… that's the B-Black family motto." Raising her gaze, Umbridge's apprehensive eyes suddenly turned terrified when they met the boiling coals of Bellatrix Black. "Miss Black." Umbridge breathed.

"Correct, Dolores." Voldemort remarked monotonously. "Bellatrix is my right hand, my enforcer. She gets terribly possessive when you touch something of hers without her permission. I suggest you beg for mercy that will not come while you still can. As you wish, Bella."

Dolores Umbridge hardly had enough time to open her mouth to speak before it widened in an agonized scream as Bellatrix cast the Cruciatus on the irritating woman. The Dark Witch held the curse as Hermione walked back to her side, kneeling before resuming her place.

The lighter brunette cocked her head in wonder as her mistress held the curse. _That is painful. Perhaps they use it for punishment as well as interrogation. That is what Mistress Bellatrix is doing._ After three minutes of holding the curse, Bellatrix lifted it and stared contemptuously at the figure on the floor.

"What position my Mudblood takes and what she does is none of your concern, you disgusting toad. You came here to prove yourself to my Lord, not to lay your filthy wart hands on something that does not belong to you. Get on with it!"

Umbridge crawled to her feet and faced the Dark Lord. Before she could say a thing, Voldemort held up a hand. "Your offer is interesting, Dolores. You are dismissed as I ponder what to do next."

The woman nodded and bowed her head as she headed back out. When she turned, the Dark Lord pointed silently to Simore and Walden, who both grinned maliciously and followed her out. There was the sound of a struggle and a shriek before several loud screeches disappearing into a cavern of sorts. Hermione turned to Bellatrix and the Dark Witch simply cackled softly, malicious child glee glittering within her eyes.

"Mistress, where was she taken?"

"The cellar." Bellatrix replied nonchalantly. Hermione's eyes widened as she understood what that meant. Deciding to keep quiet on the matter, the young witch opted to observe the meeting beside her mistress.

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><p>Ginny and Luna made their way along the Hogwarts corridor, ignoring the stares they were receiving. Majority of the student body had gotten used to the fact that the two were dating, but there were still those few who thought that they could get away with a snide remark and were met with Ginny's famous Bat Bogey Hex.<p>

"What do you think our next move is?" Ginny inquired of the blonde.

"Well, Neville says that he wants to grab some of the DA members before the school year is over and use them to try and help him find her. He's on your side after all; he believes that Hermione has a right to be saved just the same as anyone else would."

"Neville's a good bloke. I appreciate his support. Do you know who he's planning to take with him?"

"All I know for certain are Justin Finch-Fletchley, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. I offered to go as well since I want to find her and I've gotten much better since the first meeting."

"Luna, what if you're hurt?" Ginny inquired, worry for her friend etched onto her face. "We're only just going into our sixth year after all."

"Yes, but we took on a legion of Death Eaters at the end of our fourth year while the other four students with us were also fifth years. Besides, this time, I'm going to have at least four newly seventh years with me. They are all advanced enough and Neville has the experience now that he knows what it's like to fight a Death Eater."

Ginny nodded at that logic and pulled the other girl close. "Just promise me you'll be careful? I've already lost Hermione; I might go mad if I lose you too."

Luna gave her friend one of her signature dreamy smiles and replied, "I promise to be as careful as I can. I want her back just as badly as you do, remember? The group we're taking with us is elite enough that it's full of students whose parents won't mind if they go off for a bit. Of course, I'm going to have to convince Neville to try finding her after school has let out so that I can finish my last essay for Professor Snape."

"You do that." Ginny giggled before sobering quickly. "It's been nearly a year." She murmured. "Nearly a year since that bitch took her away. June third is only a week away after all."

"I know Ginny." Luna murmured, putting an arm around her friend. "And I swear, I'll find her. Just for you."

"Thanks Luna. That means so much to me." The blonde grinned down at her and shrugged, both of them continuing their way to the library.

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><p>Rabastian stalked through the hallways. The Dark Lord had just called a meeting, but Bellatrix had walked in without the little Mudblood by her side. <em>Must have ordered the girl to do some cleaning or something of the like. Should make it easier to find her, that's for sure.<em> As he continued, Rabastian thought carefully on what he was going to do to the little swot once he found her. _It's her fault my brother's gone. I'm going to get her for what she's done. And what better way to make her feel the pain of what she's done than in her most sensitive place. 'Sides, I could use some relief of my own._

Hermione bounced around the kitchen, tasting the food and stealing a treat or two. She was overseeing dinner preparations to make certain everything was as the Dark Lord and Death Eaters wished it to be. Prance had entrusted her with the task because she had noticed how well Hermione responded to orders and how honest the girl was. That meant that if any of the elves did something displeasing, then the girl would tell Prance as soon as she could and if it were urgent, she would send her pretty silver otter to the head elf.

As the young witch was once more moving toward the table where the meat was cut, Rabstian entered the kitchen and raised an eyebrow, watching as she showed an elf how to cut through fat more efficiently. He shook his head at the girl's audacity and raised his wand. Just as she was turning around, he murmured, "Stupify."

Hermione recovered from the Stunner fairly quickly and glanced around, noticing that she was being carried to the particular part of the cellar that had little cells to hold certain prisoners. Wondering what was happening, she began struggling to get down.

Rabastian felt the girl struggle and cursed the Mudblood's rapid-recovering ability. Finding the cell he wanted, he threw the filth to the ground and leered at her maliciously.

"Mister Rabastian?" the Mudblood inquired cocking her head. "What can I assist you with down here?"

Rabastian snickered and took a few steps closer. "Well, Mudblood, you will find that you still need payment for killing my brother. You do remember that, don't you?"

Hermione thought for a moment before the memory of a battle entered her mind. The details were fuzzy, but she did remember shooting a Stunning Spell at Rodolphus Lestrange and sending him through a high arching veil.

"My apologies for the death of Mister Rodolphus, Mister Rabastian." Hermione murmured, lowering her head slightly.

"Oh, don't worry, Mudblood. I'll get my apology a different way, if you don't mind."

"What different way?" Rabastian laughed at the girl's need to even ask.

"I'm sure your mistress wouldn't mind me playing with you for a bit."

Hermione's eyes widened when she realized what he meant and she could imagine all sorts of punishments that her mistress was going to give her if she found out.

"No!" Hermione shouted, looking for any exit out of the small cell.

"I'm going to ravish you until you can't beg anymore." Rabastian leered, grabbing Hermione by the throat.

"No! I don't belong to you. I belong to Mistress Bellatrix!"

"My sister-in-law isn't here now, so spread those lovely legs and scream nice and loud."

"No!" Hermione sobbed. "No! Mistress, help!"

With a flick of his wand, Rabastian vanished their clothes. He used his grip on Hermione's neck to hold her against the floor as he thrust into her fiercely. Hermione shrieked and squirmed, making Rabastian press harder into her throat. Hermione continued to fight against him, sobbing and begging for Bellatrix to save her. Rabastian laughed maliciously as he felt the pleasure from her screams race through him.

Bellatrix suddenly stood from where she had been kneeling in the room with the rest of the Death Eaters. Something was wrong, sickeningly wrong. The Dark Lord's red snake-like eyes found her and he quirked an invisible eyebrow. For once, Bellatrix paid him no mind and tried to figure out why something felt amiss.

Glancing around the room, the Dark Witch realized that her brother-in-law was not in the room. With a growl, she turned and strode out the door, heading for the dungeon with three or four Death Eaters and the Dark Lord hot on her heels. Screams and sobs echoed through the halls from the cellar and Bellatrix broke into a sprint, her lips curled into a snarl as she hurried along the corridors. She made quick work of the staircase and made her way over to the cell section of the cellar.

Coming to the last cell, she screamed in outrage to see her brother-in-law raping her pet. The Mudblood was bruised and bleeding as she not only cried, but also fought for breath due to Rabastian's hand being curled around her throat. Rabastian was too far gone in his pleasure to have any sense of his surroundings, therefore not knowing that Bellatrix had arrived until she pulled him off of her pet and threw him at the wall. The Dark Witch drew her wand with an evil glint in her eyes as she stood protectively in front of Hermione, who had curled in on herself, shaking from the pain.

"Bellatrix!" Rabastian snarled, getting to his feet.

"You filthy scum!" Bellatrix screeched. "She is mine and mine alone. You had your turn with her."

"But you are my property and therefore she is mine as well." Rabastian sneered, despite Bellatrix's wand being aimed directly for his throat.

"Soon you will have no property at all!" snarled Bellatrix lowly.

"Bella, stop!" the Dark Lord commanded.

For the first time in her existence as a Death Eater, Bellatrix ignored a direct order; she waved her wand, getting ready to cast the Cruciatus Curse.

"Bellatrix, drop your wand." The black-haired witch ignored him, but instinct told her not to cast the curse. There was a long silence as the Death Eaters watched their lord, Voldemort watched Bellatrix, Bellatrix glared at Rabastian, Rabastian sneered at Bellatrix and Hermione glanced up at her mistress.

At last, Hermione broke the silence. "Mistress."

Her tone was soft, pleading and it made Bellatrix hesitate. If she completely defied the Dark Lord, he would kill her and Hermione would be given to another Death Eater to ruin completely. With a soft growl, Bellatrix lowered her wand, but refused to take her eyes off her brother-in-law.

"My deepest apologies, My Lord. I will happily accept my punishment, whatever it may be."

Thirty seconds of the Cruciatus Curse later, Bellatrix stood again and bowed her head to Voldemort before returning her eyes to Rabastian, many violent thoughts going through her head and only one of them involved magic.

"You may do the least harmful, Bella." The Dark Lord conceded her thoughts.

"Thank you, My Lord. And if he fights back?"

"Then you may restrain him and do the third most harmful."

Bellatrix nodded and rushed forward, nailing a solid blow to Rabastian's nose. The naked wizard roared in pain as his hands flew up to his nose, giving Bellatrix room to sock him in the stomach. Rabastian bent as he tried to catch his breath and Bellatrix brought her knee up to his injured nose. Rabastian fell to his knees, groaning in pain as Bellatrix delivered one last kick to his groin with her pointed boot, making the pain so great he passed out.

Bellatrix glared down at him distastefully before sending a nod to the Dark Lord and turning to Hermione who had backed against the wall and was trying to hide in the shadows.

"Come here, Pet." Bellatrix worked to keep her voice hard so that none of the other Death Eaters thought she was going soft for a Mudblood. Said Mudblood walked forward on shaky legs and knelt before her.

"Why did you not lash at him?" Bellatrix demanded.

"B-because he is related to you, M-Mistress Bellatrix." Hermione murmured, her entire body trembling.

Bellatrix nodded and pulled Hermione up by her hair. "Both you and he forget that you are the one that killed my husband, severing my link to the Lestrange family. Now, unless I specifically tell you that you are supposed to entertain another person, you are to refuse them. If they try to force themselves on you, you are to fight back with everything you've got. Understood?"

"Yes Mistress." Hermione squeaked.

"Mistress what?" Bellatrix said in a voice that was equal parts sweet and demanding.

"Mistress Bellatrix."

"Good little Muddy."

The other Death Eaters dispersed and Bellatrix dragged Hermione from the cellar by her hair. The young witch let herself be manhandled from the underground room and was not the least bit ashamed of knowing that other Death Eaters were watching her. She was more ashamed at the fact that she had unwillingly entertained someone without her mistress' permission and now Mistress Bellatrix was upset.

As Bellatrix neared her room, she felt her anger growing even worse. _How I hate that man!_ She snarled internally. _I can't wait til one of the Order members kills him. I am no property of his, the worthless piece of dragon dung! _

Throwing the Mudblood into her chambers, the Dark Witch cast a silencing charm and a simple lock on it before turning burning eyes to the Mudblood. The girl was watching her fearfully, unsure of what to do. _Fear. Is that what drove you to submit to him, Muddy? Did I break your defiance? We'll see…_

Without realizing it, the Dark Witch began ranting aloud as she made her way toward the Mudblood and grabbed the girl by her bushy brown curls. Hermione squeaked, but made no move to pull away, taking her punishment quietly as Bellatrix turned her around, still raving over her brother-in-law.

"Who the bloody hell does he think he is? You are _my_ Mudblood!_ I _own you, not him! You are _mine!_" Hermione cried out as Bellatrix pushed her roughly to her knees and thrust into her, pushing her to her hands with the force.

"Yes, Mistress." Hermione tried not to show how much pain she was in. Rabastian must have caused some internal bleeding because she could see a red pool forming around her knees.

"Beg me to take you harder." Bellatrix commanded.

Hermione felt dread fill her stomach as she moaned out, "Mistress, please… please… I need you harder, Mistress."

Bellatrix thrust harder and Hermione bit her lip to avoid screaming. The Dark Witch's nails were slicing into her tender walls, causing more blood to flow from her core. It was excruciating, but Hermione dared not protest lest she gain the Cruciatus Curse as well.

Bellatrix's anger soon simmered down a bit and she left Hermione to her pool of blood, sweat and tears. Hermione was curled into the fetal position as the pain burned and stung. For the first time in longer than she could remember, she wished she was back home with her parents.

Bellatrix sauntered silently back into the room and stared at the dazed, unmoving bleeding girl on the floor. Raising an eyebrow, Bellatrix took a peek into the younger witch's mind and found her thinking of her parents. A flash of pain sliced across the memory and it was replaced by one of Bellatrix when the Dark Witch had been in a much gentler mood. The Mudblood's pain actually began easing as the memory replayed over and over again.

Bellatrix pulled out of the girl's head and eyed her pet curiously. _Did the little Mudblood really just calm down thinking about me, of all people? _Bellatrix mused over this for a moment before leaving the Mudblood to her head, needing to sort the thoughts going through her own.

* * *

><p>Ginny climbed through the portrait hole and saw Neville talking to Seamus and Dean in the corner of the room. Making a large circle around the room as if looking for a seat, the redheaded witch made her way to the corner as well and sat down across from Neville, behind the two other boys.<p>

"Hey Ginny," Neville greeted her with a solemn nod. "I was just telling Dean and Seamus about the plan to leave right after school ends. Luna said she wanted to finish an essay for Snape and Cho wants to-."

"Cho?" Ginny hissed softly so as not to garner attention. "You're taking Chang with you? That bitch didn't care about Hermione. If anything, she wanted Hermione out of the way so that she could take Harry. Why are you taking her?"

"Because she'll have all the experience of a seventh year." Neville replied calmly. "We're just now going into our seventh year while she's just getting out. She'll have the knowledge they teach seventh years so that we won't all be unarmed."

Ginny nodded, stewing over the fact that the halfblooded Scot was going as well. _Luna will keep her in check._ The redhead thought. _If there's one thing Luna tolerates as much as I do, it's talking shite about Hermione._

"I figure we can look in the usual possible places for Death Eaters. Knockturn Alley, the Leaky Cauldron, maybe even in Hogsmeade." Neville went on. "Once we find one that we know for sure's a Death Eater, we need to assess the danger level. If we can take him, we do. If we can't, we follow him until he leads us to the place where most of the Death Eaters meet up. There, we need two people who will stand guard and two people to actually sneak into the hideout and gouge the place. We don't want to be taken by surprise when we go in to get her."

"But mate, how do we even know she's still alive?" Seamus inquired.

"Dumbledore said that they wouldn't want to kill her." Neville replied. "That she's too valuable for that."

"Then shouldn't we let some of the Order try to get Hermione back first?" Dean murmured, cocking his head in confusion.

"No." Ginny snarled. "If we wait around for the Order to actually get off their lazy arses and do something, we'll have lost the war. If Hermione's as important as Dumbledore says she is, then we need her back and we need her back _now_."

"But what if she's not as important?" Seamus challenged. "What if he was just making it out to be a big deal and she's useless?"

"Professor Snape said she wasn't." Neville replied sharply. "He said that if we don't get her back, everyone could be destroyed, including Hermione. We gotta get her back, mate. If we don't, Dark Lord's gonna use her to destroy the world."

"She didn't seem that powerful to me." Seamus shrugged.

"Didn't she?" Dean raised an eyebrow at the Irish boy. "When we were dueling, how many of us did it take to take her down? How often did we come out of the duels unscathed? How often did she have to pull herself back to stop herself from obliterating us? She's powerful mate, and if we're not careful, Snape might be right."

"So we leave in June, then." Neville stated calmly, noticing the sudden pallor of Seamus' skin as he realized Dean was right. "Once we get back to London, we all leave the train and head out on our own. Everyone in the group, aside from Luna, turns seventeen before August, right?"

"Right, mate." Dean replied.

"Good. Come on, we'd better get some shut eye. And Ginny?" The redheaded witch looked up at Neville and he gave her a soft smile. "We'll find her. I promise."

Ginny nodded and grinned. "Thanks Neville. I owe you for this."

Neville shook his head. "Nah, it's my payback to Hermione for helping me through these years."

Ginny nodded and, as she made her way up to her dorm, glanced back at the common room and saw all the cheerful faces there, making her own expression darken. "You're not the only one who should be paying her, Neville." The redhead growled as she entered her room. "But she'll make it known that she should be paid once she comes back."

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><p><strong><em>And don't forget, y'all, next chapter is chapter thirteen. My thirteenth chapters are always the most entertaining in stories like this so keep a watchful eye out for it.<em>**

**_And don't forget the poll on my profile!_**


	13. Weeding and Rescues

**_I don't own Harry Potter, be it series, movies or idea._**

**_Beautiful. Simply beautiful. This is the best thirteenth chapter I've ver written. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. _****_**_And make sure to vote on the poll on my profile so I know what my r_**_****_**_eaders wanna see next._**_**

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><p>Hermione sat alone in the cellar, staring at the wall as her mind raced twenty miles a minute. She wasn't thinking about anything from her old life. No, she reserved sifting through her memories for the late nights when no one was conscious enough to use their strange mind-reading skills on her.<p>

Right now, she was focused, like usual, on her mistress. Her mistress wanted the Dark Lord to prevail, that much was obvious. The thing Hermione continued to wonder and ponder throughout the day was how she could help. There were so many different ways she could help them if only she could figure out how to execute her means. The men would obviously see her as a threat to their intelligence. It didn't sit well with Death Eaters when someone below them gave them a taste of one-upmanship.

No, Hermione was going to have to do this carefully. She needed to survey, plan and carry through. She would make certain that the Dark Lord had the best force possible so that her mistress was happy. Nodding her head in resolve, Hermione stood and made her way from the cellar, calmly walking through the hallways before stopping in front of one room in particular.

This was her mistress' room and it was from this room that Hermione would start. She wasn't going to go in, no. She was simply going to make her way along the halls, watching the way the Death Eaters interacted and behaved. Moving to the first room, she noticed several men in the room jeering and taunting Mister Antonin.

"Come on, Ant!" one man called. "Is she pretty?"

"Has she offered to house ya?" Another inquired.

"Does she know that ya snore like a pig with a cold?" yet another snickered, toasting his friends with mead.

Hermione cocked her head at the display and had to work hard to stop her nose from wrinkling in disgust at such an obvious show of drunken fun. The large inquisitive brown eyes found Mister Antonin and noticed his surly look. The young witch knew exactly who she was helping first, no matter how hard she had to push.

It wasn't until a few days later that she walked by Dolohov's door and heard him cursing himself. Wondering what could cause the overly confident Death Eater to be so angry, Hermione apparated into the room to find Dolohov glaring at his reflection in the mirror hanging on his wall. He seemed to be too immersed in surveying a pin on his shirt to notice her and Hermione appraised him for a moment, taking in his slightly disheveled appearance.

Opening the door, Hermione moved to stand in front of it and cleared her throat. "Mister Antonin?"

Dolohov turned to her and growled, "What Mudblood?"

"Sir, perhaps I can help you get ready for your date."

"What do you know about dating?"

"I don't remember much, but I was wearing nice clothes rather than my regular attire. What do wizards see as dressy?"

"Dress robes."

"Is she pureblood?"

"No, she's halfblood."

"Then wear a dress shirt, slacks and nice shoes. Chances are, she doesn't know proper wizarding etiquette. Then, comb your hair and put on deodorant. No smell-enhancing spells because the scent may overwhelm her."

Dolohov raised an eyebrow. "Alright Mudblood, we'll do this your way. But if even ONE thing goes wrong with what you're telling me, then as soon as I get back, I'm hexing your ass to Hogwarts and back." Hermione nodded and Dolohov returned to staring at his mirror.

"Mister Antonin?" Dolohov turned back. Waving her hand, Hermione summoned a rose and used a color-changing charm to turn it red before tossing it to him. "Give her that."

Dolohov nodded and Hermione returned to overseeing dinner arrangements with the elves.

A few days passed and Hermione had filed away her conversation with Mister Antonin, not really seeing it as all that important for the time being. She'd just watered the violets and had caught one of Lucius' peacocks before it could wander out of the boundary. She felt that she deserved a treat and was just about to head to the kitchens for a quick snack when a shout stopped her dead.

"Oi, Mudblood!"

Her heart was hammering as she turned to see Dolohov striding toward her. He stopped a pace in front of her and studied her.

"I'm debating whether to hex you or hug you. She loved the rose and told me she had a great time. We've got another date scheduled for next week."

Hermione relaxed only slightly as he continued studying her.

"Just shake her damn hand and move on, Antonin."

Both jumped at Narcissa's voice and Dolohov held out his hand. Hermione hesitantly shook it and turned to kneel before Narcissa. "How may I assist you, Miss Narcissa?"

"Where is my sister? We are supposed to be continuing your lessons today after your... _unfortunate_ accident."

Hermione stared up at her in confusion and Narcissa looked into her mind to find that she had blocked Rabastian's rape from her mind, though Bellatrix's treatment afterward had remained. Narcissa sighed. "Come, I will send a patronus for her."

Hermione followed her to the 'classroom' and sat at her usual spot on the floor. Within moments, Bellatrix entered, followed by Snape, and both looked down at her.

"Look at the Mudblood, so obedient to her mistress." Bellatrix cooed happily.

"Mistress Bellatrix!" Hermione kneeled with a wide grin.

"Rise Mudblood." Snape ordered.

Hermione twitched in confusion, unsure of whether to follow the command. Deciding to wait for her mistress' signal, Hermione stayed where she was.

"Such a good girl." Bellatrix murmured, stroking her hair. "Stand, Muddy."

Hermione got gracefully to her feet, smiling brightly at the Dark Witch. Bellatrix stared into the brown eyes and felt a tug in her chest, as if they were calling to her. Shaking her head to clear it, Bellatrix slapped Hermione across the face, sending the younger girl a foot or two. Hermione sniffed and looked up at Bellatrix brokenly, wondering what she had done wrong to displease her mistress. Bellatrix felt a small flutter in her chest, like bees' wings and sighed.

"Come here, Mudblood." Hermione stood and hesitantly approached the Dark Witch. Bellatrix stroked her cheek, almost lovingly, and Hermione leaned into the touch.

Snape and Narcissa watched the exchange in shock. Bellatrix was never gentle or loving unless she was about to kill whoever it was she was being those things to, unless it was Narcissa. Yet, here she was, treating her pet like a lover.

After a few seconds, Bellatrix pulled back and turned to her sister. "Ready Cissy?"

Narcissa nodded. "Why is Severus here?"

"Because the Dark Lord requested he oversee this particular lesson to make sure nothing goes wrong. We're going to be testing Muddy's wandless magic."

Narcissa's eyes widened and she glanced at the confused brunette, holding her cheek where a small bruise was forming. They each went to opposite sides of the room. "Mudblood." Hermione stood in the center and glanced at the two women.

"Block our attacks to the best of your ability." Narcissa called.

Hermione nodded and the two women began shooting hexes left and right. Hermione ducked and jumped over a few, but blocked most of the attacks coming her way. As two jinxes came at her at once, Hermione remembered the action movies she used to watch with her parents and jumped parallel to the ground, praying the move worked as the two flashes of light zoomed under and over her. She dropped into a roll and did a silent Expelliarmus to get both witches' wands. They flew into her hands and she stood again, staring at the two pieces of wood almost fearfully.

"Good, Mudblood." Bellatrix praised, gliding over and retrieving her wand as Narcissa did the same. "Now to test your offense."

Bellatrix conjured targets along to walls and instructed, "Aim for the targets and do whatever spell, hex, charm or jinx that comes to mind. No curses. Ready, begin."

Instantly, Hermione said, "Wingardium Leviosa." She levitated from the ground and cast a Reducto at the nearest target before doing Scourgify, Accio, Mobilius and Animatius, followed by a string of charms and hexes, including the auguamenti, the blue fire and the color-changing charm. By the time she was finished, the room was littered with various pieces of target and other things.

All present looked impressed with her level of knowledge. "And you're just barely a sixth year at that." Bellatrix remarked.

"You may be an insufferable know-it-all, but you're good at what you do." Severus agreed.

Hermione ducked her head at the praise and waited for whatever was next.

"Well, Bellatrix, it seems her wandless magic is fairly stable." Severus murmured. "All I have to do is a quick physical check over and I'll be on my way."

"Make it quick, Severus." Bellatrix hissed, waving her hand for him to get on with it.

Severus rolled his eyes and moved over to the youngest witch. "Alright, Mudblood, lie down." Hermione complied to what this man ordered, wondering what she needed to lie down for. Wasn't he leaving?

"Alright, I need you to cast the Lumos charm." Hermione held up a finger and the tip began glowing a bright white. As she did this, Severus opened each of her eyelids, surveying them calmly to see if there was any difference in her pupils or iris. He had been there the day Fenrir had chased the girl down the hallway. When she had blinded the werewolf, the little swot's eyes had darkened to pitch black, even darker than Bellatrix's.

Right now, however, her eyes remained the same dark hazel. Moving to her nostrils and further down to her mouth, the greasy-haired man took note that nothing was out of the ordinary. _Perhaps she needs to cast something more powerful in order for the change to occur?_

Without realizing it, Severus' hand had moved down to the girl's throat to examine her breathing. Hermione stiffened when she felt the hand at her throat and the memory of Rabastian flashed through her mind as well as the order Bellatrix had given her right after. Raising her hand, the brown-haired witch shot the man with a Stunner. Severus, having noticed the change in her demeanor, managed to avoid it, but it still blasted him a foot or two backward. As he stood, so did Hermione, her eyes pitch black now as her nostrils flared and her lips formed a growl. Without a moment's hesitation, she began firing spells and hexes at her adversary.

Bellatrix and Narcissa wondered what had happened and, as Severus began avoiding the girl's attack, they took a moment to observe her. "Bella, her eyes." Narcissa murmured. "They look like yours." Bellatrix had to agree, the Mudblood's eyes were much darker than before and the effect was unsettling. Such dark eyes shouldn't have been in such a face; they just didn't fit.

"And her hair." The Dark Witch added. Narcissa noticed it too; the power around the Mudblood was beginning to crackle the air and lift her hair, causing it to sway and swirl around her.

Severus was taking in just as much as the other Death Eater and her sister were. _She's getting more powerful with each passing moment. _He analyzed. _If those two don't see it now, they will soon. I have to get her out of here, but how? There must be a way. Perhaps if I can get some of the more stealthy Order members to join me…_

Because of this slight distraction of mind, one of the young witch's Stunners hit home and Severus was thrown against the wall, slumping to the ground unconscious. Hermione stayed tensed for a moment in case he was going to stand again, but when he did not, she relaxed and walked over to her mistress, kneeling.

The two sisters glanced at each other and shrugged. "Why did you attack Severus, Muddy?" Bellatrix inquired calmly.

"His hand was around my neck, Mistress. I remembered what Mister Rabastian had done and I thought Mister Severus was going to do it too. Y-you told me to fight with everything if someone tried to force me without your permission."

Bellatrix released a high pitched cackle at that. _The Mudblood thought **Severus** was going to rape her? Silly Muddy. _"Impressive, Pet. Though, I do not believe you fought with all you had." The Mudblood twitched in fear of being punished for not using all of her skill. "Perhaps if you do show me your power, you will be forgiven."

Hermione contemplated the offer. _All of my power? But I don't know all of my power. How can I show Mistress all of the potential I hold if I myself don't even know?_

Bellatrix gave a soft cackle at the turmoil within the girl. She hadn't expected the Muddy to think it over so thoroughly. The swot was indeed very intelligent. In just a moment she will figure out that-.

"Mistress, such a task is impossible for me to do without further training. Perhaps I should take punishment instead for defying you?"

The Mudblood had decided on punishment? She hadn't even bothered attempting to get a different task to show her worth? _She is more intelligent than I gave her credit for. _Bellatrix thought. Out loud, she stated, "Alright then, Muddy. You are to sleep in the cellar tonight with three large spiders for company."

The Mudblood paled exponentially at the thought of spiders and she looked ready to faint. Swallowing a moment, the girl finally nodded and stood. "A-as you w-wish, Mistress Bellatrix."

The two Dark Witches watched as the girl turned unsteadily and nearly stumbled her way out of the room, her mind most likely trying to work out a way to live through the fright. Narcissa raised an eyebrow at her sister and asked, "Spiders?" Bellatrix shrugged.

"She's afraid of them. It seemed like proper punishment."

"And if she has a Muggle panic attack?"

"Then I will have lost the most amazing toy I've ever caught." The brunette sighed dreamily. Narcissa simply shook her head with a small smile and stood, making her way to the kitchens to see about dinner.

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><p>Luna followed Neville through Diagon Ally as the six teenagers moved amongst the crowds traveling through. The blonde was on edge as she dodged around busy parents and others who were simply doing their usual shopping. They had been at this for at least eight days and had come up empty. They took shifts in twos, Neville and Dean, Seamus and Justin and Cho and herself. It was to keep on the lookout for anyone that had been a suspected Death Eater because known Death Eaters certainly weren't stupid enough to show their faces in public.<p>

At the moment, they were all following a lead that Cho had set them on and Luna was prepared for both possible outcomes. For the past week, the Irish girl had treated this entire mission as a joke, commenting on the fact that they were searching for a corpse, a slut, a prude, a bitch, a slave and any number of other names. Luna was thankful that she had made Ginny stay behind because she herself was very close to cursing the girl. And on top of that, the older girl had been setting them on false leads every time she saw someone. When they found out the lead was false, Cho would simply shrug and lounge as if it were no big deal.

As they continued trailing the tall man, Luna shot a glance at the girl and noticed the slight worry flit across her face. _She must have thought that he would be another false lead._ The blonde thought. This had been the longest period of time she had ever been focused in her entire life. She knew that letting the random thoughts and beliefs of her father swirl around her head and distract her this time may cost her her life, so she had bitten her tongue and simply let the others plan and speak around her.

Now, their hard work was beginning to pay off and Luna smiled happily. _We're bringing her home, Ginny. Soon, she'll be home._

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><p>Hermione's mission was still going smoothly. Though at first most of the Death Eaters resisted her help, she managed to get her point across sooner or later and the hints she dropped helped them realize that she was right. Now, Hermione was going to embark on the hardest task she'd set thus far. Swallowing every instinct telling her not to do this, the brown-haired witch found Fenrir Greyback down in the kitchen, snacking on assorted meats that were being held up by an obedient elf. When he noticed someone had entered, the werewolf's nose twitched and his lips formed a sneer as she made her way toward him.<p>

"Well, well, if it isn't the little Mudblood. What are you doing here? You usually don't come down until a little after noon."

"I am honored that you have memorized my schedule, Mister Fenrir, just as I have memorized yours." Hermione didn't even have to glance up to know that Fenrir was caught off balance by the remark.

"What do you mean, memorized my schedule?" the yellow-eyed man snarled, standing and glaring down at the girl before him.

Hermione met his eyes with calm ones of her own and stated, "I needed to speak with you, sir. In order to do so, I needed to know when you were alone, away from your fellow Death Eaters."

Fenrir raised an eyebrow, wondering what this girl could possibly want with him. Granted, he had no reason to look down upon her because he himself was a Mudblood as well as a werewolf, but in his book having magical creature blood was still better than being _just_ a Mudblood. "What would filth like you want to talk to me about?" he hissed.

"Filth." Hermione stated calmly, making the werewolf step back. "You yourself were a Mudblood once, weren't you, sir?"

"I don't have to answer to you!" the large man snarled.

"But you were." Hermione continued on, unfazed. "You were a Mudblood and none of the other Death Eaters know about it. You wish for someone to confide in, correct?"

"H-how do you-? What are you-? Why you-! What the bloody hell are you getting on about, Mudblood?" Fenrir roared.

Hermione held out her hand for him to take and, after a bit of hesitation, Fenrir took the proffered hand. Hermione apparated them to the gates before glancing around. Fenrir wondered what the girl was doing before another scent filled his nostrils and he tensed. Hermione whistled lowly and another person jogged into view, stopping at the sight of Fenrir.

Hermione motioned for the woman to continue forward and she slowly stepped into the light. Long, wild black hair framed a pale face with glittering yellow eyes and plush pink lips. She had a curvy musculature about her, obviously athletic but also very feminine. She stood roughly two or three inches shorter than Fenrir himself and he noticed that she had three scratches along the side of her face.

"Mister Fenrir?" The werewolves tore their eyes away from each other to glance at the witch before them. "This is Julia. She's been prowling around the area looking for food. She used to be a Mudblood too and she manages to deal with the ridicule. I thought that the two of you could talk and she could give you someone to confide in. I've filled her in on all of the information about you being part of the Death Eaters and such. She's willing to help you."

"What's in it for her?" Fenrir asked haltingly.

"A companion." Julia answered softly, her husky voice drifting to him on a small wind.

Fenrir sniffed the air to get a good signature of the woman and nodded. "Alright, then, Mudblood. I'll see how this goes. One wrong move-."

"And I will personally take care of her, Sir." Hermione finished for him. "I will leave the two of you now; I must get back to my duties before Mistress gets angry."

Hermione moved back toward the mansion, glancing back just once to see Julia leading Fenrir out of the gates and to her favorite spot under the trees. She chuckled and hid a smile as she went about tending the gardens.

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><p>The person they were following had stopped in a pub in a small town. The six teenagers decided that they would stay at the inn the person they were trailing was staying at. Checking in, Nevillle turned to the group. "Alright, we're all staying in groups of two together, understood?"<p>

They all groaned and Seamus asked, "Can we at least switch up the pairings for a bit? If I hear one more word about television and Muggle radio…"

"Or one more word about Quidditch against soccer." Justin added.

"Alright, alright, alright." Neville sighed. "Luna, you're with me. Seamus, you're with Dean. Justin, you pair up with Cho. Everyone set?"

"Good." Cho sighed. "It'll give me a chance _not_ to hear about that damned witch again."

"You'll be talking to a Muggleborn." Luna pointed out sharply, her eyes narrowing in repressed fury. "Which means you're more than likely going to hear about Muggle things." Cho scoffed in disgust and contempt and all five of her teammates grew enraged.

"You sit there all high and mighty, Chang." Justin snarled. "And for what? You're _halfblood_. One mistake and your mum woulda been the one to mark you as a Muggleborn too. Why the hell did you even come on this trip?"

"Because I'm trying to convince you all that it's a waste of time!" Cho snapped, turning back to face them. "It's not like she can really do anything! She's Muggleborn. What worth is she to us, anyway? It's not like she's going to save the damn world. Why don't you just leave her where she is? Everyone will be happier that way!"

"You're wrong, you know." Neville murmured.

"What do you mean?" Cho inquired, feigning curiosity to get information.

Unlike Harry, however, Neville wasn't falling for the ploy. "Hermione's a lot more important than you give her credit for. And if you hadn't noticed, she beat you several times every time you two dueled. You were a year higher than her. She's higher in level than you are, which means you're more worthless than she is."

Cho's face turned red, but at that moment, Dean poked Neville in the side and jerked his head toward the man they'd been following. Slowly, they all trailed away from each other, subtly keeping an eye on him as he moved to a table in the far back. He glanced all around the pub, obviously looking for someone. The six teens tried to make themselves as inconspicuous as possible as he bent his head and drank from the goblet in front of him.

After a while, he stood and walked out. Neville counted down from five on his fingers before pointing to Seamus. The Irish boy moved out the door and Neville counted off another five before pointing to Justin.

Another five, Dean.

Another five, Luna.

Another five, Cho.

When Neville made his way outside, he noticed that his friends were moving cautiously to his left. They had all taken to trailing each other in case of ambush like he planned. Now, he trailed Cho as she moved with thumping steps. _I'd be surprised if the giants can't hear her._ He mused, following the girl.

Suddenly, out of a shadow, a man lunged forward and grabbed Cho. Ahead of the Irish girl, Neville could see the other four fighting as well. He cursed as he realized that they'd fallen into a trap. Raising his wand, he stunned the man trying to keep a hold of Cho and raced forward to help a struggling Luna. The man trying to get at the blonde moved his wand in a slashing motion and Neville couldn't backpedal fast enough, ending up with an ugly gash across his stomach. As he watched, the man picked up a large rock and smacked Luna over the head with it.

Behind him, he could hear Cho screaming and in front, he witnessed Dean and Seamus go down. Justin didn't try to run as they closed in on him as well and Neville knew they had been beaten. But he also knew that this was just as good as the trailing. They would be taken to the Death Eater headquarters in order to be questioned. As they walked, Neville grinned at Cho. "Thanks for setting us on that lead. Now we're heading exactly where we wanted to be."

Cho stared at him with wide, horror-filled eyes as they were apparated away.

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><p>Hermione groaned as she was roused from her nap, curled up on the floor of the dining room. She glanced up and found her mistress staring at her with a raised eyebrow. It was about that time that the younger witch realized that her side hurt. <em>Mistress must have kicked me awake.<em> She mused. _I must grow stronger if I am going to take abuse._

Bellatrix glared down at the girl and hissed, "Up, Mudblood. It seems the Snatchers have brought in something new. And this time, they brought in something _alive._"

Hermione followed after Bellatrix as the Dark Witch led her to the drawing room. The large table had been moved and was nowhere in sight. Hermione had to remind herself that it was only for meetings and would take up too much space otherwise. The lighter brunette stood dutifully beside her mistress as Bellatrix stared in glee at who the Snatchers had caught today. Hermione peered around her mistress to get a peek at the day's haul. Her head cocked to the side as she recognized each person from her dreams.

One boy, she noticed, seemed to be almost ghost white. He actually reminded her of a ghost that haunted the Gryffindor table. _Nearly Headless Nick._ A voice in her mind told her.

The boy seemed familiar. Perhaps he was in her year at school? Was he a Ravenclaw, maybe, she did not remember him from Gryffindor. No, the tie around his neck was clearly that of a Hufflepuff. She remembered him from her second year. _Justin Finch-Fletchley._ The voice encouraged, enjoying the fact that she was remembering.

He had been one of the boys she helped to save by figuring out that it was a basilisk that was plaguing the school. He was a Mudblood then because those were the only people the basilisk had been told to target.

Hermione watched the horror play on the boy's face and raised an eyebrow. _He must have run away from his masters._ She mused before turning to the next boy.

This one was the only dark-skinned one out of the entire lot and Hermione cocked her head as he trembled in terror at the people before him. He was obviously Gryffindor, if the memory of him wearing a red and gold scarf was any indication. The boy had been one of the first that Halfblood Potter met and, if she wasn't mistaken, had shared a room with Halfblood during the school years.

_Dean Thomas_. The helpful voice supplied.

_Thomas? _Hermione wondered. _That's not a pureblood name._

_Mudblood._ The voice told her.

_Another Mudblood? Why do they keep running? Surely their masters cannot possibly be that bad. My mistress is petulant at times, but she is careful with me._ Hermione shook the thoughts away, deciding that these two were simply traveling with abolitionists to get rid of Mudblood servitude, for reasons Hermione could not begin to fathom.

Deciding not to think on it, she surveyed those who were left. There was the Irish boy whom she remembered from just before her fourth year. He had been one of the ones she met at the Quidditch World Cup. _Seamus_. The voice in her head whispered to her. _Seamus Finnigan._ He was conscious, but he had a black eye and was groaning in pain as a large man held him still.

Then came the Scottish girl and Hermione remembered plenty about her. _Slut. Emotional wreck. Two-faced._ None of the suggestions the voice was giving were the girl's name.

Hermione could recall that the girl had been a friend of Halfblood's and the two had gone on a date or two before they had broken up. The lighter-haired brunette observed this girl with a slightly colder eye. She was shaking much like Dean was and every time a Death Eater made some kind of move in her direction, even if it was harmless, made the girl squeak and jump slightly with fear.

_Cho Chang._ The voice hissed and Hermione could tell that it did not like Cho either. The girl gave off bad vibes for someone so beautiful. Cho had also doubted Hermione's capability to take care of those she loved and, on more than one occasion, had demanded to know if she and Halfblood were involved with each other. Hermione turned her head away from the girl, not bothering to cover up her look of distaste at the halfblooded girl.

Bellatrix and the other Death Eaters took note of Hermione's observation as the brunette continued on. _What's she doing?_ Bellatrix wondered as Hermione's gaze landed first on the Mudblood Hufflepuff, then the Mudblood Gryffindor, then the Irish pureblood and then on the Ravenclaw halfblood. Everyone in the room, save the Snatchers and the captives, noticed the Mudblood's lip curl with dislike at the black-haired beauty before them and Bellatrix wondered what was going through that pretty mind.

Deciding to take a peek, the Dark Witch jumped into Hermione's head to see what she could find. There, showing a room full of Death Eater practice dummies, was her little Mudblood and the Ravenclaw halfblood. The two were standing face-to-face and the halfblood was attempting to look down on the other girl, despite the Mudblood being a good two inches taller than her.

_"What do you mean 'he's not your type'?" The Ravenclaw sneered, her black eyes glittering up at the Mudblood. "Not perfect enough for Miss Goody-Two-Shoes?"_

_"I did not say that." Mudblood replied calmly, not even bothering to show her anger at the insult. "Harry just isn't attractive to me. He's more like a brother than a romantic interest." _

_"You're kidding, Hermione." Ravenclaw snickered. "You're the best friend of the most famous wizard to walk the earth since the Dark Lord and you don't even want to try dating him? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've been talking to Luna too long." _

_Mudblood felt a spark of anger at that. "And what, may I ask, is so wrong with talking to Luna?"_

_"She's a whack!" Halfblood exclaimed disbelievingly. "Even in Gryffindor, someone as smart as yourself should know that."_

_Mudblood felt her first surge of anger and her wand sparked from where she had surreptitiously taken it from her pocket. Raising the stick of wood, the Mudblood glared at the halfblood before her. "Don't say it as if it insults my intelligence. I could well have been in Ravenclaw if I wanted to. Just because Luna's not like the rest of you uptight brown noses doesn't mean she's not as smart as, if not smarter than, the rest of you. In fact, I know she is smarter than the rest of you. Don't call her a whack just because you can't wrap your mind around her. Shows how intelligent Ravenclaws are."_

_Halfblood's eyes glittered furiously and she raised her wand as well. "Just because you have the smarts doesn't mean you have the dueling expertise, Hermione."_

_The lighter brunette simply smirked and flicked her wand without uttering a single word. The stunned Ravenclaw found herself hoisted into the air and promptly spun around. Shouting in surprise, she was powerless to stop what was happening and, after ten minutes of spinning nonstop, she was begging to be let down. Mudblood took pity on her and, after another minute or so, decided to let her down. Slowly lowering the dizzy girl to the floor, the smug Mudblood twirled her wand and raised an eyebrow. A chamberpot appeared in front of the black-haired girl just as she leaned over and promptly began to vomit. _

Bellatrix pulled from the girl's mind and looked vaguely disturbed. Her Muddy had willingly tortured a girl into sickness… with a simple spell that caused no bodily harm. The thought of associating her toy with torture was laughable at best. The girl, despite having wandless magic, was harmless on account that she hardly ever used the aforementioned wandless magic.

Hermione took no note of any of this and instead continued her observation. The boy she turned to now had a heavy gash across his stomach and was bleeding from it very badly. His face still retained some of its boyish features despite being more defined since the last time she had seen him. He had let his hair grow a little longer and his eyes were not nearly as soft as they once were. Hermione could remember so much with this boy, so many memories. She helped him in classes, to study, to find a date… he must have been very important to her, but none of the memories offered up any hint of a romantic relationship. She could also recall that he was a famous person, but she couldn't remember why.

_Longbottom._ The voice in her mind told her, calming now that they were no longer looking at Cho.

_Longbottom?_ Hermione wondered. Then it hit her. The Longbottoms had been a couple of Aurors who had been tortured by Death Eaters for information about the Dark Lord. One Death Eater in particular drove them into insanity.

_Your mistress._ The voice noted.

_My mistress? They must have done something to upset her if she drove them to insanity. But then, that would mean that this boy was…_

_Neville._ Her helper supplied.

_Neville Longbottom. I remember the greasy-haired man giving this boy such a hard time about everything he did and it was unfair to Neville. The greasy-haired man must not have liked him very much. It must have been prejudice though, right?_

_Right. _The voice agreed.

Nodding her decision, Hermione turned her attention to the last captive. The flow of long silvery hair made her cock her head as she traveled upward. This girl was unconscious. She was being supported by the largest of the men simply because she must have carried the most weight, not being awake to hold it up. This girl looked so familiar; where had she seen her before?

_Ravenclaw. Crumple-horned Snorkak._

Hermione nearly snorted aloud at the name and realized who the girl must have been. "Luna." She murmured, moving slightly closer to stand beside her mistress as she attempted to get a better look at the girl and make certain that she was not injured.

Bellatrix wondered what could happen if her Mudblood were to see that the girl was indeed her friend. She had tortured the only other female in the group for the Lovegood girl, after all. Deciding that it would do neither girl any harm, she let the Mudblood go about her inspecting.

Hermione moved closer to the group and stood beside the girl, beginning to analyze her condition with her eyes. She was obviously hurt, but there didn't seem to be any visible injury that Hermione could see. Raising a hand, the brunette ran a hand through the blonde's hair and felt around for lumps, finding one near the back of her head. Everyone in the room watched with fascination as the girl pulled her hand back and it was crusted with blood. Hermione raised angry eyes to the Snatcher and curled her hand into a fist. Said fist began to glow red as her anger grew and she was ready to land a blow when Bellatrix stepped up and yanked her bushy curls. Hermione squeaked in surprise, catching the attention of the other Snatchers and those who had been Snatched.

"Hermione?" Neville gasped, staring at the girl in utter shock.

"Hermione!" Seamus and Dean chorused, thankful that someone they knew was here. With his good eye, Seamus appraised her and had to admit that life had done her a lot of good, whatever had happened to her. Dean licked his lips as he surveyed his fellow Housemate. She looked like she could win a beauty contest and a wrestling match all in one. Hermione took no note of them and turned to her mistress, waiting for either an order or her punishment.

"What were you about to do, Muddy?" Bellatrix hissed, her wand sliding from her sleeve in case her pet did not cooperate.

"I was going to make him let her go, Mistress Bellatrix, and then I was going to heal her wound."

Bellatrix had to hand it to the girl. _At least she was smart enough to tell the truth. Even if she didn't tell me how she was going to make him let her go._ "Well, now, Muddy. You may heal her, but refrain from doing anything to your superiors, understood?"

"Yes, Mistress." Turning to the large man, Hermione bowed her head to him and murmured, "I meant no disrespect, sir. If I may?" The Snatcher huffed and grunted, letting Luna down so that Hermione could heal her wound.

Neville, Dean, Seamus and Justin eyed the brunette as she raised another glowing hand, this time light blue, and rested it against Luna's scalp, where she had found the blood. Slowly, the wound healed and the blonde began to stir. Hermione did not move as she sent a blast of the same magic at Neville, shocking him as he felt warmth run through his body. Then, his stomach wound slowly began to knit together and became much less critical, leaving behind a small scratch.

Hermione stood and moved back to her mistress' side, turning to look at the captives once more. It was about then that the three Gryffindor males realized exactly _why_ Hermione was naked and they gulped to see her standing next to Bellatrix the way she was.

"Is she going to be the one to torture us then?" Seamus inquired fearfully.

"Please," Dean begged. "Please, I'll do anything. Just don't let her be the one to torture us."

"Afraid of the embarrassment it will cause?" MacNair snickered, misreading the boys' reasons.

"You wouldn't be so snobby if _you'd_ been on the other end of one of her duels, mate." Dean snapped. "She'd wipe the floor with six of us at once and the odds would be against her every time."

"Six?" Bellatrix wondered softly, glancing to the girl next to her. The Mudblood still looked like her harmless self. She held herself like Bellatrix did, but even with her muscle, she still looked harmless, as if she couldn't hurt a thing. _Interesting. More hidden talents then?_ The Dark Witch mused.

Just then, Draco, Lucius and Narcissa entered the room, taking a look around before their eyes landed on the group brought in by the Snatchers. Lucius and Narcissa moved to stand on the side of the Dark Lord, opposite Hermione and Bellatrix as Draco moved forward to put a name to the students that had been caught.

"Father, it seems there is a variety. We've got ourselves three Gryffindors, two Ravenclaws and a Hufflepuff. I can't put a name to either of the Ravenclaws, but the Hufflepuff is Justin Finch-Fletchley, a Mudblood. You've also got two Gryffindor purebloods and another Gryffindor Mudblood." At this, he shot Hermione a smug grin, to which the young witch cocked her head in confusion and Draco turned away awkwardly. _It's no fun teasing Granger if she doesn't get what I'm talking about. She's still intelligent, but I wish Aunt Bella would unlock more of her memories. I want to see the look on her face when she realizes-. _

"Draco?" a soft voice murmured. All heads turned to the female Mudblood as she took another step forward. "Draco… Malfoy?"

"What is it, Mudblood?" Draco demanded haughtily.

Hermione surveyed him for a moment before asking, "Is your cheek alright? I didn't mean to hurt you."

The blonde-haired boy was taken aback at the admission and he didn't know what to say._ Of all the things she could've remembered, she recalled that? _He had to stop himself from pouting at the memory of the smack that had landed his cheek. "As if a Mudblood could hurt me. You did little damage. Now return to your mistress and let me work."

Hermione nodded, but stopped as the blonde opened her eyes and their gazes connected. The brunette witch froze as the other girl stared at her in shock.

_Hermione?_ Luna thought groggily. _She's still alive, thank goodness. Wait til Ginny hears about this. She even looks relatively healthy, though going naked wouldn't be my first choice of showing off a well-worked body. She does look rather good though. _

Hermione stared into the dazed blue eyes before her and remembered countless hours talking to this girl and trying to understand her. When Hermione finally did understand her, they had quickly become friends almost as close as her friendship with Halfblood and the Weasel. They stared at each other for another moment before everyone around became impatient. Hermione turned away from her friends as the words fell from Draco Malfoy's mouth. "Mudblood, I told you to get back to your mistress."

Hermione nodded and quickly strode over to stand beside Bellatrix once more. Draco went back to pointing out who was whom. "You've got yourself Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan and-."

"Neville Longbottom." Bellatrix hissed with glee, moving forward and stroking the boy's cheek. "You look so much like your father, but you seem to take after your mother."

"I'll avenge them, too." Neville snarled, glaring hatred at the woman before him. "I'll kill you for what you did to them. And for what you've done to Hermione."

_Hermione?_ The Dark Witch wondered, not knowing that the same thought was going through her pet's head. Hermione herself knelt to the ground as several thoughts came crashing into her mind at once, but she pushed them all back to be addressed at a later date. The youngest witch slowly stood again as Voldemort began speaking. "Alright, fugitives. We can do this the easy way, in which you give up information or the hard way in which I force it out of you. Your choice."

The six teenagers stared up at him without saying anything and the Dark Lord sighed, nodding to two Death Eaters near the back, who promptly shut the doors. Cho whimpered in fright as she looked around for a different escape route that didn't involve jumping out of the window.

"Bring forward the first Mudblood." Voldemort called calmly. Justin was pushed forward and a flick of the man's wand sent him to his knees and kept him there. The boy used the position to glare defiantly up at the Dark Lord, his eyes burning angrily. "Tell me, Mudblood." Voldemort began. "Exactly why are you here?"

"To get Hermione back to the Order." Justin replied calmly, albeit coldly.

"Oh? And why would the Order need something so precious?" Justin kept his mouth shut and the mediocre Occlumency walls he had were pushed up so that the Death Eaters around couldn't find the information Neville had shared with him, Dean and Seamus.

"Come now, there has to be _some_ reason you went through all this trouble to get the girl. Was it because of Harry Potter? Does he wish to have his precious Mudblood back safe with him so that he can continue milking her of every resource she has?"

Justin continued glaring up at the man and refused to make a sound. The Dark Lord nodded. "Perhaps you need a bit of extra persuasion. Crucio!" Justin writhed and screamed on the ground, his body twisting into grotesque positions as his screams bounced off the walls. None of the Death Eaters around them seemed to bat an eye and Hermione simply raised an eyebrow, used to the Cruciatus being given since it was common punishment for failure. When the curse was lifted, Justin continued to remain silent and after three more sessions of the curse, Voldemort grew very irritated very quickly.

"I've no use for people who won't speak and seem to be struck dumb in my presence. I suppose my more depraved Death Eaters can have some fun with you. Take him to the cellar."

A brief flash of fear swept across the young Hufflepuff's face before he set it into a stone cold mask and refused to make a sound as a pair of masked Death Eaters escorted him down the stairs. There were jeers and taunts directed at him all the way. After a few minutes, one of the Death Eaters returned up the stairs and the glint in his eyes told what the other was doing.

Voldemort paid no mind to what his soldiers were doing and ordered, "Bring up the next one."

Dean was shoved to his knees next, his expression mirroring Justin's with just a bit more of his Gryffindor courage showing. He spat at the Dark Lord's feet and Bellatrix instantly drew a fist across his face for such disrespectfulness. "Ah, another Mudblood. You all seem to enjoy trying to rescue one of your own. I suppose something can be said for filth about sticking together after all."

When Dean made no sign of a response, Voldemort continued. "Are you going to be a bit smarter than your companion and supply information?"

"Hermione didn't so why should I?" Dean spat, dark eyes glittering maliciously.

"Ah, but your little friend did give up information. That's why she lived."

"You're wrong." Dean shrugged, completely confident in what he was saying. Despite being Muggleborn, he definitely wasn't the first Muggleborn in his family. And apparently, kneazles could mate with humans because he could always tell when someone was telling a lie. Voldemort's taunts had no effect on him because he knew deep down, without even needing the kneazle blood, that Hermione would rather die and had probably hoped for death before she would ever give up any information.

Voldemort sighed irritably. "And it seems you all have the same infuriating habit of withholding needed information and practicing Occlumency. Send him down with the other one!"

The Death Eater from before tugged Dean to his feet and the two made their way down to the cellar. He kept a straight face through the entire thing, resigning himself to his fate. Voldemort waved for the next one to be brought up and Seamus trembled as he was forced to his knees. "You're not gettin' anything from me!" he shouted, trying to sound braver than he felt. Voldemort simply flicked his wand.

"Crucio!"

Seamus fell to the ground, shrieking and screaming, his limbs twisting horribly as he wriggled like a dying worm. Voldemort held the curse for a bit longer than he had on Justin and Seamus was bleeding at the nose by the time it was lifted. "Please." He gasped, trying to hide his watery eyes. "Not again!"

"Give me the information I need then."

"There's an army!" Seamus muttered.

"An army?" Voldemort's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What army?"

"Dumbledore's Army. There are students training in Hogwarts specifically to fight you. N-Neville and Harry are the leaders, they teach all of us defensive and offensive spells and curses."

"Oh? And how do they have time for such things when everything at the school is monitored by teachers?"

"W-we would meet at night. Most of us have Snape's Defense Against the Dark Arts class and he teaches us things. If we don't get it right then, we all head to the Room of Requirement and study them there until we get them."

"And none of the other teachers know of this?"

The constant talking seemed to be easing Seamus a bit and he was relaxing now that there wasn't the impending threat of the Cruciatus Curse being thrown at him. "W-well, some might, but they never mention anything."

"You traitorous bastard." Neville hissed, shaking his head.

"I wanna live, mate!" Seamus snarled back. "You saw what they did to Dean and Justin. It's not gonna be me!"

Suddenly, small purple dots began appearing all over Seamus' face. No, not all over, simply across his cheeks, nose, mouth and chin. As Hermione watched, the word _SNEAK_ was formed and she got a flashback of casting a spell on a piece of paper to find out who would betray them. Bellatrix glanced at her pet when the memory surfaced and she began cackling happily.

"Bellatrix, what is so funny?" the Dark Lord inquired.

"The hex." Bellatrix snickered. "Muddy here put a hex on the paper that they all signed so that none of them could betray this Dumbledore's Army!"

"She is quite the intelligent little piece of filth, isn't she?" Voldemort mused. "Alright then, Finnigan. You are free to go. I suppose the fact that you were outsmarted by a female Mudblood is punishment enough. Selwyn, make sure everyone he encounters knows why he has that on his face."

"Yes, My Lord."

Selwyn took Seamus by the arm and half-dragged him to the door, the younger wizard looking disgruntled by what was happening.

"Send up the next one."

Cho was pushed up and forced to her knees. She whimpered and trembled as she tried to avoid staring anywhere that had a cloaked figure. Her eyes settled on Hermione and she reached out to the younger witch. "Hermione!" she shrieked. "Hermione, please! Please don't let them do this to me!"

Hermione cocked her head in confusion as she looked at the girl before her. She wasn't certain what she should do and so she glanced to her mistress. Bellatrix noticed the Mudblood staring at her in confusion and she let loose a short cackle of mirth. "She can't help you now, girl. The Mudblood you know is gone."

Cho began sobbing as her eyes met those of the younger witch and she realized that Bellatrix was right. Even the eyes didn't look like Hermione's anymore. "Miss Chang," Voldemort sighed irritably. "If you would be so kind as to stop making so much noise. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner you can be released from your place on my floor."

The black-haired girl perked up slightly at that and she turned to the Dark Lord. "W-what do you want to know?"

"Anything on the Order that you wish to tell me in order to save your own skin."

Cho nodded and slowly thought back on all of the information she had wheedled out of Harry. Deciding to start small, she began. "The Order had to leave Grimmauld Place and are now at the Hog's Head Inn. If that is infiltrated, they will move to Andromeda Tonks' home." Bellatrix let out a short hiss at the name and Hermione glanced to her, wondering what could have caused her mistress to become upset. "And then Emmaline Vance's and Dedulus' and then Mad-Eye Moody's."

"Cho, shut up!" Neville roared, struggling against the Snatcher holding him.

"They're training Harry and others in Occlumency so that you can't see into their minds if they're captured during a battle." The Scottish girl continued, paying no mind to the black-haired boy behind her, her attention focused solely on the red eyes before her. "Professor Snape seems adamant about getting Hermione back to the Order because she's supposed to be some secret weapon to help Harry defeat you, but Professor Dumbledore keeps shooting it down, saying that their forces weren't big enough."

Voldemort held up a hand and turned a quirked eye to Severus. "I was simply trying to convince him that his forces were big enough to lead a full-scale attack, My Lord. And in doing that, the boy would have snuck along as well. He has a nasty appetite for being the center of anything fighting related. If Dumbledore could organize an attack, the boy would be brought right to you without any force needed."

"Clever indeed, Severus." The Dark Lord murmured, waving for Cho to continue.

"Harry told me that newer recruited Order members would be patrolling Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley to keep a lookout for any suspicious activity and to stop the Death Eaters from recruiting as well. Several Order members have brought down some Snatchers already and interrogate them for information, but the Snatchers don't budge, even when using Veritiserum. Harry's included in the Order meetings now, but they mostly revolve around making the Order larger."

"You backstabbing bitch!" Neville shouted, kicking and flailing at his Snatcher as he had been since Cho began talking.

"Tell me," Voldemort murmured, ignoring Neville's shouts and insults. "What do you mean by the Mudblood being a secret weapon? What is so special about a girl with horrid blood status?" No one noticed Severus shift uncomfortably. The greasy-haired man had subtly removed his wand. If he had to take on the entire manor to get the girl out, then he would. If Chang spilled even ONE word about the girl's power, he was hexing everything within a fifty foot radius.

"Harry didn't tell me much. He said that he was bound by an oath not to say too much about her. All I know is that she has some powerful magical energy that could be used to aid Harry if we succeeded in getting her back."

"Powerful magical energy? In a Mudblood? How absurd." Severus let out a breath of relief and returned his wand to his sleeve, knowing that the immediate danger had passed. The Dark Lord didn't believe the girl had any magic worth fighting for.

"T-that's all I know off the top of my head." Cho stammered, eyes looking hopeful. "Does that mean I can go now?"

"Go? Now why would we let a traitor roam free?" Voldemort asked, cocking his head to the side in a show of mock-confusion.

"Y-you said I would be released!" Cho shouted, eyes wide with terror as two more Death Eaters walked forward and grabbed her arms.

"Yes, from your place on my floor. Letting one traitor go is the quota. The gene pool cannot be allowed to suffer two traitors."

"No!" Cho shrieked, kicking and wriggling, fighting at the Death Eaters' hold. "No!" Her screams disappeared into the cellar below as the door closed.

Luna stared at the cellar for a moment before glancing to her friend. She was surprised to see a slightly worried look on Hermione's face. The brown eyes she remembered glanced between the cellar and Luna as if Hermione was thinking that Luna would be dragged down next.

Next, Neville was shoved to his knees and he glared up at Voldemort, but he didn't show the same amount of hatred toward the noseless man as he had toward Bellatrix. Hermione cocked her head at the boy. _Why does he look at my mistress with such hatred? Surely he could not hold it against her for torturing his parents?_

_He does._ The small voice told her. Hermione pouted at that, believing only bad people to dislike her mistress.

"Neville Longbottom." The Dark Lord murmured, Bellatrix wriggling in excitement next to his chair. "Why would someone with one of the most famous families in the Wizarding World want to rescue a filthy little Mudblood?"

"Maybe cause I owe it to her." Neville replied calmly.

"You owe a Mudblood?"

"Do you know the hell I went through in Professor Snape's class? Only she would help me when no one else would. Well, when everyone else is too much of a wanker to come get her, who does? Me. I want her back."

Bellatrix cackled and stepped forward. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that the Longbottom boy was in love with the Mudblood."

"And yet, you don't know love, you bitch." Neville snarled. "You wouldn't be able to tell the love of a lion's mate from that of your own sister. Hermione's a close friend; she's almost been a sister to me all this time."

Bellatrix whipped out her wand in rage and quickly cast the Cruciatus. Neville fell to the floor, his body writhing the same way Seamus' and Justin's had. Hermione watched the curse curiously, wondering why the boy didn't scream. _I do not scream except for my mistress. Perhaps he has learned that technique from the other Mudbloods within the group? They should not teach a halfblood such things. That is not of his concern._

The curse was lifted and Neville glared up at her. "That the best you got, you cold-blooded bitch. It's hardly what so many have told me." Bellatrix's eyes glinted and she cast the curse once more, holding it longer than before.

While the Dark Witch had her fun, Luna glanced around at all of the people watching the show. She had been surveying everything thus far and was wondering how she was going to get both herself and Hermione out of this mess. The brunette had shown no signs of trying or even wanting to escape. And there was something… different about her. Luna's skin prickled just LOOKING at the older girl. The air around Hermione began crackling, growing steadily more powerful as she looked to Luna briefly before looking away once more.

_What is that?_ The blonde wondered absently, assessing the escape routes. _It's… powerful. Perhaps her aura has been affected by her time here? It is darker than I would have thought, but perhaps it is not her true essence. _

Luna's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a bout of hysterical laughter. Turning, the girl was baffled to see Neville laughing loudly as Bellatrix lifted the curse once more. The round-faced boy simply laid there and laughed as if the funniest joke in the world had been told. Everyone around stared in confusion as he only laughed.

"I saw Snape in my gran's clothes." Neville snickered. "I saw Lavender popping a pimple. I once stole cookies from the cupboard when I was three. I ate a piece of cake and almost got turned into a turtle. Fred and George turned me into a canary."

"Bellatrix, what's he talking about?" Voldemort sighed.

"I'm not sure, my lord. I believe I tortured him into insanity just as I did his parents."

"Pity. That's the end of the Longbottom line, then."

"My apologies, My Lord."

"No Bella, when someone of higher power is goaded, they must defend their honor. Take him away to St. Mungo's."

Wilkes stepped forward and used the levitation charm to lift the boy and bind him, leading him out the door. Now, all eyes focused on Luna and the blonde gulped, hoping she could suffer the same fate as Neville; she really did _not_ want to see what was in that cellar.

Bellatrix stepped forward with her wand raised, but Hermione stepped up right next to her. The Dark Witch turned to her pet in confusion, wondering what the Mudblood was up to this time. The girl was not often this close to her or on equal grounds with her unless she was holding the girl.

"Please mistress, if I may be the one giving the torture?" Hermione inquired, her eyes locked with Luna's.

Bellatrix raised a shocked eyebrow before turning to her lord. "My Lord, my Mudblood wishes to do the honors."

"Well, let's see just how much she can honor such a task then. Go on, Mudblood. Let's see your torture."

The last sentence had just barely left his mouth before Hermione hit him with a silent Petrificus Totalus. The Dark Lord fell to the floor and the young witch used the Death Eaters' momentary surprise to shoot off several curses, rendering most of them screaming and/or bleeding on the floor. Severus had been the only one to move fast enough to avoid the curse she shot his way. Hermione had not dared attempt to curse her mistress and had thus continued using the black-haired witch's surprise to urge Luna to her feet.

"Come on, Luna." She hissed, helping her friend to her feet and leading her through the door. As the two girls raced through the door, Bellatrix began screeching for other Death Eaters to catch them. Hermione noticed that several heads were beginning to poke through doorways and she hurriedly led Luna into a nearby secret passageway. She had learned many of them around the manor and was trying to get Luna to the gates as quickly as possible.

"Luna, do you know how to apparate?" Hermione inquired softly, checking for danger before leading her back into the corridors and racing along them as well.

"A bit, they've been teaching us." The blonde replied, just as lowly.

"Good. When you get to the gates, I need you to apparated from there, understood?"

"Yes, but what about-."

"Get a location in your mind as quickly as possible. We're going to-." Hermione stopped, turned and shoved Luna into another passageway, hurrying along it instead as Death Eaters pounded past where they had just been. "We'll be there soon. And do you have your wand?"

"Yes, the Snatcher didn't think to take it off of me when he knocked me out."

"Brilliant. Thank Merlin for stupid Snatchers."

As they emerged into the hall again, a voice shouted, "There they are! Get'em!" Hermione urged Luna in front of her. As the younger girl began casting Stunning spells at the oncoming rush of Death Eaters, Hermione shot any curse that came to mind. When the Death Eaters had been down for a bit, she shot the countercurses at them and led Luna onward. They streaked through the hallways and passageways, Hermione cursing any Death Eaters they came into contact with. Luna thought it to be strange that her friend didn't have a wand, but simply pointed her finger at the opponent and they fell before her.

Hermione stopped them in front of a door in a passage and turned to the blonde. "Luna, when I say go, I need you to run as fast as you can for the large, iron gate, understood? Don't hesitate, don't wait for me and don't try to save me. Just go and don't look back. I'll hold off anyone trying to subdue you, just go."

"But-."

"No."

Brown eyes met blue and Luna noticed that there was something different about the eyes. The Hermione she remembered had large, focused, intelligent brown eyes that pierced anyone in her gaze. Earlier, Hermione's eyes had shone brightly with any emotion she was feeling and they had had an almost childlike quality to them. Now, they were focused like the old Hermione and the intelligence was there, but there was something lying beneath it all, something Luna couldn't quite place. The younger witch swallowed and nodded, her wand at the ready.

Hermione turned to the door and opened it onto the manor gardens. Checking to make certain the coast was clear, Hermione lifted a smoke screen around them. "Run through it, it's only near the manor. Now, go!"

Luna burst from her place and through the smoke, making a beeline for the open gates. Hermione stared up at the manor and nodded when the smoke screen was penetrated. She began racing after Luna and firing spells and curses behind her. Four or five Death Eaters burst through the smoke and gave chase to the two girls. Hermione snuck a peak forward and noticed Luna was nearing the gates. Thinking quickly, she aimed her finger at Luna and muttered, "Protego!"

The softly cast but still strong protection charm barreled Luna across the boundary of the gates and she landed on the other side. Hermione stopped her running and gave the girl a small sad smile before turning to the rush of people heading for her. As Luna watched, Bellatrix strode forward with a knife in her hand and she used the blade to slap Hermione, the lighter brunette's head snapping to the side. The darker witch was absolutely livid as she began cutting into the younger witch, shouting at her. As the other Death Eaters began coming forward in efforts to get at Luna, the blonde looked up at the manor one last time before imagining the newest Order headquarters and apparating away.

* * *

><p>Luna felt the suffocating darkness let up around her and she gasped as she fell to her knees within the Order's latest hideout: The Hog's Head Inn. A few people rushed her as she collapsed to the ground and Luna noted that one of the voices questioning her sounded annoyed. Looking up, the blonde spied Bill Weasley, Ginny Weasley and Fleur Delacour standing over her.<p>

"Luna what happened?" Ginny inquired as she and Fleur leaned over her.

Luna coughed as she sat up and glanced around to be certain that there were no unwanted parties listening in. When all present were determined to be a part of the Order, she clutched at Ginny to stand. "Hermione." Luna murmured. "Hermione saved my life."

"What?" Several heads turned in her direction.

"What do you mean?" Professor McGonagall continued.

"We were captured by Snatchers and they took us to a place-."

"Wait." Aberforth Dumbledore inquired. "Who was this 'we'? Who were you with?"

"Neville. Neville, Dean, Seamus and Justin. And Cho."

"They got Cho?" Harry demanded, worry etched on his face.

"We were taken somewhere. I had been knocked unconscious by some bloke with a large stone. We saw the Dark Lord. He was… he wasn't as scary as I thought, but then I was disoriented for the most part. I wonder if the Snargaluffs had something to do with that…"

"Luna, focus!" Harry ordered. "What happened when you saw the Dark Lord?"

"Well, when I woke up, someone had healed my wound and I saw Hermione. She seemed to remember me, but she kept close to a woman… Bellatrix. She kept close to Bellatrix as if she had to follow the woman around. Whenever Bellatrix moved, Hermione would follow, almost without thinking."

"The Imperius Curse?" Professor McGonagall gasped in horror.

"No. She was definitely herself. But Ginny you were right. This Hermione was like nothing I've ever seen. She had… she had this aura about her… as if things only touched her because she let them. She looked so powerful, it was scary."

"Miss Lovegood," Professor McGonagall cut in. "Could you tell us anything more about the other captives? What happened to them?"

Luna rubbed her head, trying to recall what punishments were dished to whom. "They called up Justin first. He… he wouldn't give them information. He withheld it even as they cursed him and when it was clear he still wouldn't budge, they took him downstairs. The cellar I think it was. And they said that he could be used for the more depraved soldiers." All around there were gasps of shock and revulsion.

"Dean got the same as Justin. No information was given by either of them though. Then they called up Seamus. He… he was tortured for a bit, but he gave in. He didn't give anything about the Order though. He only gave up what he knew about Dumbledore's Army at Hogwarts. When he was finished telling, all these blotches appeared on his face that spelled out the word 'sneak' across his face. I figured they let him free after that since he was a pureblood. They thought having a curse like that permanently written across his face was punishment enough. It was the same one Hermione used when that one Ravenclaw girl gave up information to the Toad."

"What about Cho?" Harry demanded, his hands curling into fists.

"And Neville?" Ginny added, shooting a withering look at the black-haired boy.

"Cho… Cho was… I-I can't remember. I started fading in and out."

Harry growled and jumped forward, beginning to shake the girl. "Remember, Luna! What happened to her? Where is she? Is she in danger? Tell me!" Ginny and Bill both pulled him off the girl and Fleur knelt next to the younger blonde.

"Perhaps, I can help her." The Veela murmured. Placing a hand to Luna's temple, she gave the girl some of her own energy and Luna's eyes snapped open.

"Cho gave up information too!" she exclaimed. Everyone around groaned at the news. They all knew that Harry had been feeding the girl information on the Order to seem like such a big guy. Now it had cost them resources and probably time. Harry sank into a chair with his head in his hands as Luna continued. "She thought she would get let go like Seamus, so she gave up the information that came to mind quickly. She thought they would let her go and begged them when they didn't. They sent her down to the cellar too. She must have been in a different segment of it or something though because Hermione looked scared for her for a second.

"Then they called Neville. He was just like his parents, he wouldn't give a thing. But they tortured him so badly that things started flying out of his mouth without his control and he kept laughing. He would even spend a few periods of time simply laughing for no reason. I think he'll be able to join his parents now. I didn't want him to. I was going to help him try to find a cure for them…"

"Then how did you escape?" Ginny asked.

"Hermione helped me." Luna told her, looking around at all of them. "There was still a bit of the old her in there because she knew she was going to be punished. She said that she thought they would let Cho go, just as they had Seamus, but since they didn't, she wanted to save another girl from the fate that she had gone through, that Cho would go through. She started torturing people without her wand. She didn't have one, but whenever she pointed her fingers at someone, they would fall to the ground screaming or bleeding or whatever she would do to them. She led me through a few passages and out to the gates. She ordered me to apparate, but I saw them. I saw Bellatrix take out a knife and start slashing at her. I couldn't save her and she didn't want me to. She knew that was what would happen and she helped me anyway… I should have stayed to save her."

Professor McGonagall looked around at all of the others as thoughts became voiced.

"She has _wandless_ magic?"

"How do we fight someone who uses wandless magic!"

"Fighting someone with non-verbal magic is already difficult, but when they don't even have to raise a wand?"

"How are we going to get her back?"

"What if she's already been inducted into the Circle?"

"What if they're teaching her Dark Magic?"

A sudden bang stopped further questions and all heads turned to Professor McGonagall. "Someone needs to send for the Headmaster at once." She ordered. Several Patronuses took off into the air and everyone began to calm as Fleur brought Luna a drink.

Ginny sat next to the blonde and leaned against her slightly. "She's still alive." The redhead murmured happily. "So long as she stays that way, we have a chance of winning."

"And a chance of getting her back." Luna added, gulping the water thankfully. Ginny smiled and nodded, sighing as she settled into her friend and awaited Professor Dumbledore.

They didn't have long to wait. He arrived quickly, hurried by the news that only one of six students had been in contact with Death Eaters and Snatchers and had returned. He glanced around the hub for a moment, taking in all of the worried faces, Harry's disgruntled expression and the two girls' small smiles. Moving over to Luna, the headmaster pulled up a chair and sighed softly.

"Miss Lovegood, if you would tell us what you know about where you were taken?"

"I only know that it was a large place surrounded by hedges and had a large iron gate. It was something like a mansion or manor and it had several Death Eaters, more than I've ever seen. They were in almost every room we passed. When I looked at it from the outside, it was an all white building with hints of silver all over it. And there were white peacocks everywhere."

"And do you remember anything about the spells and curses Miss Granger cast as she led the way?"

"They were bloody. Many of them involved blood, actually. But they also involved screaming. She didn't let the curse last long. Once we were passed she would shoot a yellow beam of light from one of her fingertips and heal the person to the point of being injured, but not fatally so." Professor Dumbledore nodded in thought.

"Did she look any different? In any way?"

"What's the point to asking these questions?" Harry demanded heatedly. "They've given up information. We should be getting out of here."

"Harry, if you would please have a seat. Miss Granger's life may not be at stake, but we must be certain that she is in good condition. After all, the next search party for her shouldn't be going after someone too near death to save." Dumbledore tried to be patient with the boy, but even his patience was beginning to wear thin with how hotheaded and stubborn Harry had gotten.

"Oh, she's in very good condition." Luna piped up cheerfully. "She's very strong and muscular-looking. She looked healthy too and she was clean. She didn't look too different than before except that she didn't seem particularly fond of clothing; she was walking around naked. But professor-."

"Naked?" McGonagall inquired dubiously. The student that she had known would die before she was caught anywhere with a lot of people wearing nothing but the clothes she was born in. Of course, the student she knew was locked away behind the forced visage of a child, so that may not be the case anymore.

"Yes." Luna went on. "But professor-."

"So then she's gone off the loony end?" Elphias snickered, trying to picture the prudish, slightly uptight girl he remembered wearing absolutely nothing and walking around as if it were normal. The idea was laughable at worst.

"No she hasn't. But _professor_-."

"Why else would anyone walk around naked if they weren't crazy?" Dedulus asked of the blonde. "After all, she has reverted back to being a child. She could be completely bonkers now that-."

"SHUT IT!" Ginny roared, silencing any further comments.

When everyone had given her their full attention, Ginny turned to Luna and motioned for the girl to go on. "Professor, Hermione did look different in another way. She had a strange aura around her, as if things could only touch her because she wanted them to. Like if she didn't want them to touch her, they wouldn't even come within a foot of her. And it was growing. Slowly, but it was growing. The air around her seemed to be crackling with magic. But it didn't start doing that until Cho was taken to the cellar. It was clear that none of the other Death Eaters even knew it was there because they paid it no mind and no one commented when it appeared. She's very strong."

"If we could get her back now, the Dark Side would fall to their knees and beg for mercy." Dedulus murmured in awe.

"They'd be afraid to even think twice about joining the Dark Lord after that."

"With that amount of power at her fingertips, she could be used as a powerful weapon against anything."

"No one would dare raise a finger against us or the ministry."

"We have to get her back!"

"I volunteer to go on the next search party!" George and Fred chorused.

"Me too!" Ginny added.

"And me." Fleur called.

"Hold on!" McGonagall shouted. "We don't even know where she is!"

"Malfoy Manor." Harry murmured softly. "I should have known from the way Malfoy kept smirking everywhere he went. He wouldn't have smirked like that unless she had been close by and he could see her but we couldn't. She's at Malfoy Manor. Professor, we can get her back!"

"Harry, I understand that you seem to think that-."

"No," Arthur Weasley stepped up. "He's right, Albus. Luna's description matches Lucius Malfoy's home exactly. No other wizarding family has white peacocks strolling around their garden."

"Well then, if anyone has an idea on how to infiltrate?" Professor Dumbledore glanced around.

"We can't." Luna told him slowly and all heads whipped to her.

"Why not?" Ginny demanded.

"Because they could be expecting a follow-up attack. We have to plan this correctly otherwise, we may be overwhelmed by the amount of Death Eaters they have. If we're going to get Hermione back alive, then we need to truly plan this out."

Ginny cocked her head. She had never seen her friend so focused before. It was almost as though her mind had changed and was now revolving around one thing: getting Hermione back. _Mione had such a big impact on everybody's life._ The redheaded girl mused, watching Luna sift through her own thoughts. _Everyone was connected to her in some way or other. We need to get her back before everyone changes completely._

* * *

><p>Hermione limped around the cellar. Ever since Luna had apparated away, Bellatrix had allowed the Death Eaters to have their way with her. She watched as Justin, Dean and Cho huddled in corners of the cellar and shook her head. <em>They must not be used to it, but why? Perhaps they have been away from their masters for too long?<em> Shrugging it off, Hermione continued tidying up the large space in preparation for any more Death Eaters that may be feeling frisky or angry. She was mentally kicking herself for defying her mistress in such a way, but she couldn't let Luna go to the cellar. Something about the girl, the memories of becoming her friend… they just made her feel protective of the girl.

The cellar door opened and four heads snapped up to see Bellatrix walk in. The other three let out sighs of relief as Hermione knelt before her mistress, trembling. The Dark Witch strode over to her pet and surveyed the girl. Her eyes had returned to the ones Bellatrix remembered while training her, they were childlike again. When the girl had been helping the Lovegood child, however, they had briefly reflected the girl that had purposefully withheld information from the Death Eaters to save her friends. Looking deep into the girl's eyes, Bellatrix found something there that she couldn't quite place, something different than the intelligent swot she had tortured but it wasn't like the childlike slave she had trained.

Standing back to her full height, Bellatrix commanded, "Stand Mudblood." The filth slowly got to her feet and conjured a whip and a knife. Bellatrix smirked. The girl knew her so well. "Alright, Muddy, fifty lashes. You will count them and if you take too long to say a number we will begin all over again, understood?"

"Yes Mistress." Hermione murmured, turning and placing both hands flat against the wall.

The audience of three watched in shocked horror as Bellatrix began whipping their friend and Hermione did exactly as she had been commanded to do, not skipping even one number as Bellatrix whipped her ruthlessly. By the time the Dark Witch was finished, there was blood slowly dripping down the younger witch's back. When the lashes stopped, Hermione turned back to her mistress and knelt once more.

"My deepest apologies, Mistress." She murmured. "I let weakness and emotions control my actions. It will not happen again."

Bellatrix cocked her head in surprise, seeing the intelligent eyes of her toy, but with the childlike quality of her pet. _What is this? It's like she's two different people in there._ "See that it doesn't pet. I would hate to have to kill you with how talented that mouth of yours is. Now come, you have duties to attend to."

Hermione stood and closed the wounds on her back, not bothering to heal them completely. She dutifully followed her mistress from the cellar and made her way to the gardens to water the flowers.

She was just moving to her mistress' room when Bellatrix strode out. "Come Muddy, there's a meeting. I am required to attend." Hermione scurried after her mistress, wanting to continue to please her owner. They both entered the drawing room and Bellatrix took a seat at the table, to the right of the Dark Lord.

When all of the Death Eaters had entered, Voldemort looked around at them all before speaking. "It seems that Muggles have decided to try arming themselves against us. They are using their own form of weaponry and we must be on guard. The filth cannot be allowed to take us down as easily as we can them."

"How would Muggles be able to arm themselves against magic, My Lord?" Jugson asked softly.

"They may not be able to arm _against_ it, Gareth." The Dark Lord told him. "But they can _defend_ themselves lest they spot it."

"How will we know which Muggles are armed?" Rookwood inquired.

"Who would pause to care?" Yaxley countered. "So long as you know it's a Muggle, ya kill it. If it doesn't die, ya run."

"We don't run!" Avery snarled. "No way am I gonna let a Muggle make me head for hills, mate."

"Ya will if it means ya keep livin'!" Yaxley hissed.

"We can dodge anything they throw at us!" Travers chimed in.

"Yeah," MacNair snickered. "I mean, how fast can a Muggle be, right?"

"Pretty damn fast, mate." Dolohov replied. "Fastest runner is a Muggle Kenyan from Africa."

"So they can run, doesn't mean nothin." Amycus Carrow growled.

Hermione watched the meeting curiously, curled into Bellatrix's lap and as far from Rabastian as she could be. The Death Eaters seemed to be arguing over whether Muggles were actually a threat to them or not. She held down a snicker considering she knew exactly how dangerous they could be. Nuclear missiles would completely wipe out Diagon Alley and the surrounding areas, but she wouldn't dare speak up in a meeting full of angry Death Eaters.

Bellatrix watched the meeting with disinterest, believing the Muggles to be of no threat. That was, until she heard what was going on within her Mudblood's head. _Nuclear missiles could easily wipe out Diagon Alley… army tanks would be able to shoot down shops from miles away… even Hogwarts wouldn't be protected, blown to bits by cannons and missiles… no wizard would be safe if the Muggles knew… and of course the big red button that the Americans have in the States…_

Turning to the girl in her lap, Bellatrix was baffled by the information she was receiving. _Are Muggles truly that dangerous?_ The Dark Witch wondered. _They couldn't possibly…_ Deciding to put the matter to rest for a moment, the black-haired witch contented herself in checking her nails as the males around her argued back and forth.

At last, Voldemort said, "Choose a man to accompany you, Ignoan." Mulciber glanced around and chose Rabastian to join him. "Go do some surveillance on the Muggle militia in Wales."

"Yes, My Lord." Both men chorused.

They were getting ready to apparate when Hermione was struck with an idea. "Wait." She called to the two men. They both turned to her, one with an expression of curiosity and the other with a sneer.

"Misters Mulciber, Lestrange, you'll need these." Transfiguring two vases, she presented each man with a Kevlar jacket. "They protect against gunfire."

Rabastian snarled and thrust the jacket back at her. "I don't need your _protection_, Mudblood."

Hermione nodded and turned to Mulciber. He was staring at the jacket speculatively. "Come now, Mulciber." Rabastian snickered. "You aren't really considering taking help from a Mudblood." Hermione felt a twinge of hurt and lowered her head. "I don't know mate." Mulciber said, slipping into the material. "You never know what you're up against. Best be careful."

The other wizard scoffed as the two apparated away. Voldemort turned to Hermione as she changed the single jacket back to its original state. "You know of gunfire, Mudblood?"

"Yes, Dark Lord." Hermione said softly, not lifting her head.

The powerful wizard cocked his head at this behavior. Usually the girl was either stoic or bubbly towards him. Now she seemed reserved. "Mudblood, what troubles you?"

"I..." Hermione hesitated. "It's just, Mister Rabastian is a cruel man, but I don't want him dead, even after what he did to me."

"You believe he will die?" Voldemort inquired.

"Yes, Dark Lord. Militia camps always have scouts stationed to spot intruders and gun them down."

"Well then, Rabastian had better hope this particular camp is lazy."

Hermione nodded and returned to Bellatrix's lap, snuggling close to her mistress happily, letting Rabastian's bluntness wash away.

A few days later, Hermione was cleaning the drawing room as the Dark Lord spoke to a group of Death Eaters on the raiding styles and how things should be done while out causing chaos. A sudden crack sounded and all eyes turned to a coughing figure that had just apparated in.

"Mulciber!" Yaxley shouted. The man sank to his knees, panting.

"My Lord, Rabastian is dead. We were attacked by some Muggle scouts with metal wands."

"Guns." Hermione corrected quietly, continuing her work without so much as blinking in his direction. "They use mechanics not magic. That's why I gave you the Kevlar, so you weren't shot as easily."

"Blimey, Mulciber." Avery murmured. "You had your life saved by a Mudblood."

"Merlin's left foot." Mulciber breathed. "So I have."

"Well Mudblood, you now have a life indebted to you." Voldemort gave her a small smile and Hermione returned it with a dip of her head to show her respect. As the other Death Eaters in the room began teasing Mulciber about having his life saved by a Mudblood, Hermione went about her duties, smiling to herself that she had helped to purge a neglectful Death Eater from the army.

* * *

><p>"Albus, you sent for me?" Remus Lupin strode into the Headmaster's Office of Hogwarts and took a seat.<p>

"Yes, Remus. Do you remember when Hermione Granger went to you about the boggart?"

"Yes sir." Remus replied, shuddering at the memory.

"And you remember that she made the boggart explode with the power of her fear?"

"Yes, Albus. I instead used the Ultimum Timore potion to help her find out her worst fear."

"And you remember very well what it showed us, correct?"

"Albus, what does this have to do with anything?" Remus demanded in exasperation.

"Remus, Hermione Granger's worst fear may be coming true and sooner than we thought."

Lupin's eyes widened in surprise. "But I thought you said she was being kept as a pet?" he murmured.

"They are." Dumbledore affirmed. "But how long will it be before they notice the aura that Miss Lovegood described? If they haven't already seen it by now, they will and then what? She will be used as a weapon just as we saw from the potion."

"Albus, what are you going to do?"

"I am not certain old friend, but I need to make sure that the Order does prevail or the world will be thrown into chaos. Whatever it takes, I will do it to have Lord Voldemort defeated."

"Be careful, Albus." Remus warned, beginning to stand. "I will not stand with you if you are going to do something rash. Let things be and we will convince her back over to our side. But if you interfere, Fate will not be on the side of the Light."

"Remus, if there is no other way, then we must do something. We cannot let such a weapon fall into the hands of someone so consumed with Darkness."

"Because of your focus on Harry, she already _is_ in their hands. It's how we go about seducing her back onto our side that will count the most."

As the gray-haired man left, Dumbledore put his chin on his folded hands. _There has to be a way to stop that fear from becoming reality. And there is. But most of the Order won't be happy about it…_

* * *

><p>Hermione moved through the hallways, checking to make certain that her plans were working smoothly. All of the Death Eaters seemed to be showing signs of improvement in their work, which was to be expected since they had taken her advice. Moving out the gardens, the young witch saw Fenrir and Julia playing catch with a ball and she noticed that Fenrir was beaming. Tending the flowers as she was supposed to, Hermione reentered the manor and strolled throughout the halls.<p>

As she was passing one room, Hermione heard shouting from within and paused. It sounded like Narcissa and Lucius were having another argument. "…don't see why, she's _halfblood!_" Narcissa was screaming.

"We are _Malfoys!_" Lucius roared. "Draco deserves more than a halfblood; he should be going after purebloods!"

"The only purebloods around are his cousins!" Narcissa hissed. "I don't want disfigured grandchildren!"

"Well if he doesn't marry a pureblood, you won't have grandchildren at all!" Lucius stormed from the room and down the hallway, not noticing Hermione standing right outside the door.

The young witch cocked her head and glanced into the room, spying Narcissa near the closet. Slowly moving into the room, Hermione cocked her head, noticing the irritation playing on the blonde woman's features.

"Miss Narcissa?"

The blonde turned to the brunette and spat, "What is it, Mudblood?"

"Are you feeling alright? You look tired and frustrated."

"That is none of your business!" Narcissa hissed, her wand raising. Hermione flinched and nodded, scurrying away. Narcissa took a breath and turned to the mirror, wondering what she was going to do now.

Hermione hurried back to the cellar, noticing that Justin was missing. "He, uh, he didn't last." Dean mumbled when she gave him a questioning look.

The young witch nodded and sat in her corner, mulling over the argument she'd heard. That was the third one in the last two days. It seemed that the marriage was going through a rougher patch now than before the Dark Lord had returned. _Perhaps it is because of Mister Lucius' allegiance to the Dark Lord. Miss Narcissa does not think he is thinking of his family as much. If he were to get away from the stress of war for a bit of time, they would be able to reconnect the same way as before the war began again. If I can just figure out a way for them to get a vacation…_

Narcissa walked along the hallways, glaring at anyone that dared look in her direction. Most of the Death Eaters were wary of her since they knew that she had learned quite a bit from Bellatrix and the Blacks weren't exactly a sane bunch. The blonde stepped through into her bedroom and glanced at her bed. Noticing something golden sticking from beneath her pillow, she found a golden ticket to Spectra Sindicate's Spa and Treatment Center. "What…?"

"Miss N-Narcissa?"

The older witch whirled around, wand at the ready, only to find Hermione kneeling before her, trembling slightly. "What is this, Mudblood?" Narcissa demanded, not lowering her wand.

"I… I wanted to help you and Mister Lucius, Miss. I just thought that… if the two of you got away from all of this for a little while, perhaps you could bond again. It would be like a second honeymoon for the two of you."

Narcissa examined the ticket for a moment, speculating on whether or not to hex the Mudblood for getting into her business. "I suppose this could work." She said slowly. "Come with me, Mudblood."

Hermione followed behind Miss Narcissa as the blonde went out in search of her husband. It turns out that he was in the drawing room with the Dark Lord, speaking about matters concerning the Order and how far they may have gotten with recruits. Both Narcissa and Hermione waited patiently until both men were finished, before Voldemort beckoned them both forward.

"Lucius," Narcissa murmured slowly. "Have you ever thought about going on a second honeymoon?"

Both Lucius and Voldemort looked bemused at the idea. "What are you talking about, Narcissa?" Lucius inquired.

"Well, the Mudblood here posed an interesting offer."

"You're taking the advice of a Mudblood now?" Lucius snarled.

"Dolohov and Mulciber did." Narcissa pointed out coldly.

"They were lucky. It was all themselves that did it."

"Perhaps for Antonin, but had Mulciber not been wearing the Mudblood's gift, he would not have returned alive."

"Still, you want us to go on vacation at such an important time in the Dark Lord's uprising?"

"It would be just the two of us, relaxing for once. Surely just a few weeks couldn't hurt?"

"He is the most powerful wizard of all time and I have sworn my allegiance to him. I will not leave him at such a time."

Hermione noticed Narcissa fading back into herself, her moment of courage and desperation gone. Deciding to do something extremely risky, considering both men and Narcissa may curse her for doing this, Hermione knelt before the Dark Lord and asked, "Dark Lord, if I may make a plea?"

Voldemort's eyes zeroed in on the Mudblooded girl before him. She was asking him for something. _What could she possibly want?_ The Dark Lord wondered. "Alright, Mudblood, make the plea."

"Please, Dark Lord, if Miss Narcissa and Mister Lucius get away for a bit of time, Mister Lucius will be more productive in his work. He would be more focused because he will have had time to relax and calm down and think, relax so that he is not as tense and not thinking irrationally."

Voldemort rubbed his chin thoughtfully and stared up at the ceiling for a moment. "I suppose you are right, Mudblood. Alright then, Lucius. Thanks to this Mudblood's insults toward you, you and your wife are allowed away for a week. No more, understood?"

"Yes my Lord." Lucius Malfoy glared at Hermione and followed Narcissa out of the room to pack.

Hermione stayed kneeling until Voldemort turned his eyes on her. "Dismissed, Mudblood."

Hermione stood and ducked her head, turning on her heel. "Wait." She stopped and turned back, wondering what he needed from her. "Have you reconsidered my offer? Of me becoming your master?"

"No, Dark Lord. I am happy with my mistress and just as she has sworn her allegiance to you, I have sworn mine to her. I cannot be yours."

Voldemort nodded. "Why are you helping my soldiers, Mudblood?"

Hermione did not try to deny it because she knew that he would have found out anyway. "Because, Dark Lord, Mistress Bellatrix wishes for you to win and I have noticed things have been off. If your soldiers were calmer, not so quick to curse and instead thought out their actions more properly, they may indeed be a better fighting force that way. I have resolved to help all of them as best I can, even if many of them may not accept the help right away."

"So you are doing this to make your mistress happy?"

"Yes, Dark Lord." Hermione cocked her head, confused by the sudden barrage of questions.

Voldemort nodded and waved his hand in dismissal. _She is loyal._ He mused. _She would make an excellent addition to the fighting force, but then I would lose moral with my men. She is a Mudblood after all. I will have to find a way to let her fight while saving face. It would not do for dissent to spread because a female Mudblood was among us._

Hermione exited and headed straight for the gardens, needing some rest. She was not due to check into the kitchens for quite some time and unless her mistress called her through the link they shared thanks to the brand, then she was content to watch the clouds roll by and doze.

A week later, Hermione was walking through the corridors on her way to clean dust from Lucius and Narcissa's room as she had been doing all week. She nodded to the Death Eaters she passed and they gave her small smiles or head nods in return, most of them seeing her as something of a helper since she had done so much to aid them in improving their skills with their lord. Just as she was about to go into the bedroom, she froze at a call.

"Oi, Mudblood!"

Hermione turned to see both Narcissa and Lucius strolling toward her with small smiles adorning their faces. She quickly bowed her head to Lucius before kneeling in front of Narcissa. A tap to her head told her to stand and she got to her feet. "Is there anything Masters Malfoy would like?" she inquired, getting ready to call an elf to attend to the couple.

"Nothing at the moment, Mudblood." Narcissa replied. "We just wanted to thank you for the vacation." Hermione bowed her head as an acceptance of the thanks. "Come, you must begin your lessons with Bella soon, correct?"

"Mistress told me not to come to her and that she wished not to be disturbed for a few hours. I was going to the kitchens to oversee the dinner preparations."

Narcissa nodded. "We must check in with the Dark Lord to let him know that we are back. Goodbye, Mudblood."

"And, uh, don't bother with the room." Lucius told her, trying to maintain some semblance of loftiness. "I'll call an elf to do it."

Hermione bowed one last time before turning and making her way to the kitchens. Tonight's feast would consist more of the meat variety because Fenrir Greyback was coming to stay the night.

* * *

><p>Professor Dumbledore sat in his office as he was contemplating how to go about setting his plans into action. Most of the Order members would be disgusted to hear what he planned to do. Ronald's love for the girl was bordering on stalkerish, so the chance to see her again will run very smoothly with him. Harry would be hard to convince because he did see the girl as something of a friend, but if he found out that she was working for Bellatrix Black, he may be willing to put aside friendship for familial revenge.<p>

Knowing that only two members of the Order would actually agree with what he was going to do, the headmaster sent a patronus out to those two and hoped they would respond quickly. The more time it took, the more time there was for Hermione Granger to be swayed to the Dark Side. Within moments, Molly Weasley and Elphias Doge strode intot he room and sat opposite the man.

"What's this about, Albus?" Elphias demanded calmly.

"Hermione Granger." Dumbledore replied without preamble.

"You mean the all-powerful weapon we're not trying to get back?" Elphias inquired.

"Or you mean the childlike swot that's going to hell as soon as she dies?" Molly added.

"Neither. I mean the girl who could possibly make or break the war we are trying to win." Dumbledore took a beat before glancing at both of them. "I want to get rid of her."

"What?' Molly shouted. "Why?"

"Because Molly, her worst fear is about to come true."

"I don't follow, Albus."

Dumbledore sighed. "In her third year of Hogwarts, Hermione went to Remus to try and find out what her worst fear was. The fear was strong enough to render the boggart nothing but a pile of dust. When Remus used the Ultimum Timore potion to find out the worst fear… Hermione was working alongside Bellatrix Black. She may have still been the woman's pet and bed slave, but she was dressed in the Death Eater cloak."

Molly hissed in outrage. "That bitch! I _knew_ she practiced the Dark Arts! I'll kill her along with that dark-haired psycho!"

"Molly, I have a plan." The redhaired woman settled down for a moment to listen. "I am going to send Harry and your son Ronald to retrieve her. They will not be killed because Lord Voldemort is under the impression that he must kill Harry himself."

"What are we going to do with her then, Albus?" Elphias snorted. "Sounds to me like she's gonna live."

Dumbledore smiled and outlined the rest of his plan.

"You are a sick man, Albus." Elphias shuddered at what his leader had suggested.

"But in times of war anything that may be perceived as a threat needs to be eliminated."

"And you're positive my son will live, Albus?" Molly asked lowly.

"Entirely, Molly."

"Then do whatever it takes."

Dumbledore nodded and dismissed the two, calling Dobby to bring to him Harry Potter and his friend Ronald Weasley. The two boys entered moments later and looked around, wondering if they were in any sort of trouble. Dumbledore gave them both pleasant smiles and gestured to the two chairs Molly and Elphias had just vacated.

"Ah, Harry, Ronald, please sit."

Both boys nodded and declined any offer of a sweet treat. "Professor, what did you need us for?" Harry asked slowly, knowing that he had to keep himself in check. He had been getting very uncontrollable lately and he realized this.

Dumbledore looked each boy in the eye and said, "Some things are getting out of hand long before they should be and if we are not careful… things may get worse."

"Professor, what are you saying?" Harry inquired.

"I'm saying, Harry, that Miss Granger may or may not have given information to the Death Eaters."

"Hermione wouldn't do that…"

"Harry, I have reason to believe that she had strayed to the Dark Side." Harry's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Look into the pensieve."

Both boys dipped their faces into the silvery liquid and watched Dumbledore's memory of going into Remus' memory of watching Hermione's worst fear. They shuddered when they saw what she was doing to the man and Ron grew livid when he saw his crush kissing Bellatrix Black. Harry was infuriated not about the fact that Hermione was kissing Bellatrix, but because she had feelings for the woman who had killed his godfather.

When they reemerged, both boys held hatred in their eyes and they turned to Dumbledore in determination. "What do you need us to do, Professor?" Harry inquired.

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><p><em><strong>Bonus points to those who know where Julia is from and where Hermione's worst fear came from.<strong>_

**_And don't forget the poll on my profile._**


	14. Harry and Ron to the Rescue

_**Hello, my good people! I'm back from this super long hiatus to bring you another chapter to this wonderful story. Now please, by all means, enjoy!**_

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><p>Hermione bustled around the manor happily. She was happy about the changes she had made to the Dark Lord's forces, the differences showing clearly. Coming to the cellar, she grabbed the old brush Miss Narcissa had given her to begin brushing her hair. It had gotten a bit matted lately with all the work she had been doing. It was also extremely long and thick, going nearly to the back of her knees. Getting all of the knots from the top, she was nearly down to her shoulders before she heard her mistress call for her.<p>

Apparating to her mistress, Hermione smiled up at the Dark Witch and knelt. "Pet, go to clean the guest rooms. We are to have more Death Eaters arriving and the Dark Lord wants them to be comfortable before their trip east to examine the magical situation there."

"Yes, Mistress." Hermione stood and hurried from the room, heading for the guest rooms to do her work.

In another part of the same area as the manor, Harry and Ron both appeared by apparation. Coming to land in front of the large hedge surrounding the Malfoy residence, the two boys nodded to each other and began walking until they found an entrance. It was a large wrought-iron gate that looked menacing.

"Be careful, mate." Ron stated. "I know what kinda gate this is. We can't go through it. Gotta go over it."

"Let's do it the Muggle way." Harry suggested. "That way, they won't be expecting anything."

"Good idea." Both boys latched onto the hedge on either side of the gate before an idea struck Harry. Grabbing his shrunken bag, he pulled out the invisibility cloak.

"Ron!" he called quietly. "Come on."

"I don't know, mate." Ron murmured. "Best be cautious." Casting a Disillusionment charm over the both of them, Ron climbed under the invisibility cloak with Harry and the pair began climbing the hedge together, making sure to stay away from any of the white peacocks as they dropped to the other side of the gate.

Harry and Ron slipped into the manor garden carefully, keeping the Disillusionment charm over themselves as well as the invisibility cloak. They dodged the magical plants that would have otherwise eaten them or done something else harmful as they arrived at the front of the manor. Glancing around, the pair stared up at the large mahogany door apprehensively and decided that a different way in would be more fortuitous. Walking around the perimeter of the manor, they spotted a figure dusting through an open window and nodded to each other.

"_Wingardium Leviosa_." Harry muttered, slowly floating them up to the window. Latching onto it, they let the invisbility cloak slip off Ron since he was taller and they climbed through the window, catching sight of bushy brown hair disappearing from the room just as they climbed all the way in.

"Do you think that was her?" Ron asked.

"Only one way to find out." Harry gripped his wand tightly in his hand and stole from the room, following after the brown-haired figure walking down the hall. Their hair was much longer than when they had last seen Hermione and it obscured the majority of the person's body, but there was only one person they had ever seen with hair like that and they were determined to make certain it wasn't her before ruling the person out.

Following the person to a room filled with Death Eaters, the pair paused before slowly entering as well. The person they had been trailing sank to the floor in front of Bellatrix and said, in a voice that both boys recognized instantly, "I have finished with the guest rooms, Mistress."

"Good girl, Mudblood." Bellatrix cooed, smirking. "Tend the drawing room and the garden and then you are free to do as you please until I call for you again."

"Yes, Mistress." The person stood and turned, revealing her to be the very person the boys were looking for. She moved to a room off to the side and most of the Death Eaters left right after her. The boys surveyed who all had stayed and Harry froze to see Fenrir Greyback also in the room.

The werewolf obviously hadn't smelled them yet and turned to Bellatrix. "Are you certain I can't play with her? I wouldn't mind adding her to my pack, either. She's a good little one."

"Fenrir, I've already told you-."

"Wait." Both the Death Eaters and the two intruders turned to a woman off to the side, finding her sniffing the air in confusion.

"What is it, Julia?" Fenrir inquired, worry filling his eyes.

"There are two new scents in the room, but I didn't see anyone else come in." The woman, Julia, turned her head in the direction of Harry and Ron and the two boys felt their hearts speed up as all of the wands in the room aimed at them.

"Show yourselves." Fenrir ordered, teeth bared angrily at being taken unawares.

Slowly, Harry reached up and tugged the Invisibility Cloak off, stuffing it under his shirt as the Death Eaters all gasped. Ron lifted the Disillusionment charm seconds later and the wands were at the ready once more.

"How many are there?" Bellatrix snarled, slowly walking forward.

"There's just us." Ron spat, eyes blazing at Bellatrix.

"Just two?" the Dark Witch snickered. "Has Dumbledore truly gone mad, only sending in two people?"

"And students at that." Dolohov grunted, eyeing the two boys cautiously.

"Why have you come then?" the Dark Witch inquired, wand still aimed for the boys' throats.

"We want Hermione's wand." Harry huffed.

"You mean that wand?" Bellatrix motioned to the wand on the bookshelf and the boys both glanced over to see the familiar wand. "By all means, take it. I dare say, she won't be needing it any longer. Don't think she's needed it for years."

Neither of the boys paid any mind to that last statement and focused their sights on the wand. "Get it!" Harry shouted to Ron, stunning one of the Death Eaters to create a distraction. The redhead raced for the bookshelf and leaped up, grabbing the wand. However, as he was descending, a body slammed into him, propelling the wand from his hand.

"Harry!" Ron called., throwing off the man that had tackled him.

Harry turned from where he was fighting off Fenrir and noticed Hermione's wand sailing through the air. Leaping up, his fingertips scraped it from the air and he landed in time to dodge the jump Fenrir had made at him.

"I got it!" Harry shouted, dodging around Fenrir's next attack and racing for Ron. McNair stepped in front of him and the wand went flying as Harry disentangled himself from the Death Eater. Ron ran for the wand at the same time as Mulciber and the pair slid to grab it, crashing into each other and nearly snapping the piece of wood in half.

Before that could happen, Harry slammed into them both and snagged the wand before it could be pulled apart. Pocketing the piece, he turned once more and caught sight of a familiar set of brown eyes watching him before they turned and a trail of bushy brown hair exited the adjoining room from a different doorway.

Harry was going to go after Hermione, but Fenrir stepped into his path once more, yellow teeth bared at the darker brunette. Harry backed himself into a wall so that he couldn't be taken by surprise and kept shifting his eyes from one person to another, wondering how they were going to do this. Glancing overhead, he caught sight of several candles floating overhead. Pointing his want up, he whispered, "Locomotor Candles." The floating wax sticks began floating into a line and made a beeline straight for the three Death Eaters surrounding him.

As they dodged, Harry took his chance and moved back to Ron's side, aiming his wand at the two Dark Witches, eyes burning at the memory of Sirius' death. Bellatrix smirked at the pair while Narcissa continued looking as if she were bored.

"Where's Hermione?" Ron snarled, shooting a quick jinx to the witches, which Bellatrix deflected easily.

"Who?" the brunette Black inquired in a bored tone.

"Don't play dumb with us!" Harry growled, glancing momentarily in the direction of the adjoined room. "You took her from the Department of Mysteries with you. Where is she now?"

"Ooh, you mean the pretty little Mudblood that I've been playing with?" the Dark Witch cackled happily at the thought of their stupidity. "You broke into the Dark Lord's main headquarters just to get back a Mudblood? How foolish!"

"Where's Hermione!" Ron demanded again, his wand pointing straight for Bellatrix's throat.

The Dark Witch cackled and deflected the next hex that came her way. "Hermione? Hermione? Where is she?" Bellatrix mocked him, mimicking a panicked expression as she cackled once more. "Your dearest Mudblood is now within my possession, boy. Watch. Mudblood!"

Hermione appeared with a small pop and knelt before her mistress. "Mistress Bellatrix, is there anything I may help you with?"

"Hermione!" Ron shouted, gaining the girl's surprised attention.

Suddenly, at the sight of both boys as well as the utterance of her real name, Hermione dropped to the ground, the memories assaulting her mind and reducing her to near catatonic shock as they continued coming. _The troll in the bathroom, Fluffy, the Sorcerer's Stone, the basilisk, finding out what 'Mudblood' meant, Buckbeak, the Time-Turner, Sirius Black, the Yule Ball, Rita Skeeter, Umbridge's classes, Dumbledore's Army, studying, Finals, O.W.L.s, Finding out about Halfblood's connection to the Dark Lord, Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, Headmaster Dumbledore, the Order of the Phoenix, Kreacher…_ everything hit her at once and she was powerless to stop it.

Bellatrix waited for her Mudblood to get up, but when the girl continued lying on the floor with her eyes staring at nothing, the Dark Witch grew angry, thinking her to be dead. "You've killed her!" the Dark Witch shrieked, beginning to throw out curse after curse as she advanced on the two boys. "I don't know how, but you did! You traitorous wretch!"

Narcissa moved to the Mudblood and checked her pulse, determining that the girl was fine, simply unable to move or speak. It was almost as if she had been put under the Body Binding charm. "Bella!" the blonde sister called to her black-haired counterpart. "She's still alive, simply petrified."

Bellatrix snarled and sent out coils to catch the little welps, but they dodged the coils and landed near Narcissa and the Mudblood. "Get away from her!" Bellatrix hissed, nearly spitting fire as she moved closer, wary of sending a curse lest she hit Narcissa.

Halfblood grinned as he rolled to Narcissa and grabbed her around the chest, his wand aimed for her throat. "Give us Hermione." He ordered, holding Narcissa firmly despite her struggles to get free.

"And why would I do that?" Bellatrix growled, trying to keep him talking as she touched her mark to call her lord.

"You want your sister to remain unharmed, don't you?" Harry inquired, poking Narcissa's neck threateningly.

Bellatrix growled and lowered her wand as Ron stooped to grab Hermione. Just as he got her within his grips, a figure appeared outside the window and the Dark Lord stepped inside. Harry turned with a groan and snarled at the man. Dropping Narcissa to the ground, he led Ron out of the room with all of the Death Eaters casting curses at the duo as they went. Voldemort flew back out the window to find the two boys racing for the gates. As he fired off one last curse at the boy, Harry grabbed Ron and they jumped through the gates, apparating before even hitting the ground. Roaring in fury, Voldemort turned to those still in the room.

Bellatrix had wisely told Narcissa to flee before the Dark Lord could come back in because she knew that if Halfblood got away, her Lord would not be in a good mood.

As to be expected, Voldemort turned to the nearest person to him, Jugson, and cast the Killing Curse. As the dead man dropped to the ground, the Dark Lord turned to the rest of the room with cold eyes.

"How is it _so_ _hard_ to catch _one_ boy!" he snarled, glaring at them all. Bellatrix quickly knelt before him, not wanting to seem as if she were defying him by looking into his gaze. The others quickly followed her lead as the Dark Lord began pacing among them. "And they've got our only lead on information with them as well. Bellatrix!"

The Dark Witch hurried to her feet at the utterance of her name. "Yes My Lord?"

"Call your Mudblood back."

"I cannot, My Lord." Bellatrix said sullenly. "They had her under a Body-Bind when they left. She will not be able to apparate to me until the charm either wears off or is lifted."

Voldemort roared in fury and blasted the wall in rage, blowing a large hole in it. "I need to get something." He told them slowly. "None of you are to leave this building under any circumstances. You have to prove yourselves worthy enough to join the hunt for him once more."

Bellatrix felt her head drop as he flew back out the hole he had created. She had failed him.

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><p><strong><em>Sorry about the beginning. I was kinda at a loss of what to do there and I preferred to make most of this chapter from the point of view of Harry and Ron (mostly Harry) considering they were the ones rescuing Hermione. Now, review and give any suggestions of what you think is going to happen next. What do you think Dumbledore told the boys to do with Mione? Review!<em>**


	15. Decisions

_**Hello, my good people! You've been waiting for this and I was almost desperate to give it to you, honestly. So, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and thank you to all of you for reviewing, favoriting and following it. For those of you wondering why the word count skyrocketed, I believe you wonderful readers deserved an extra long chapter because of my hurtful neglect... and here it is! Enjoy.**_

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><p>Hermione slowly began to awaken. She could hear voices from all directions. "…up and wants to go back?" one voice demanded.<p>

"Well, we won't let her and we'll keep her with us until we can exact the plan."

"I can't believe they found us at Grimmauld Place and the Burrow and the Hog's Head and at Tonks' mum's and at Emmaline's place. How much information did Hermione feed them?"

"Dunno, mate, but she's a traitor now. So long as they don't know we moved Headquarters to Dedulus' place we should be safe for now. If they somehow find that out, well, safest place to go right now other than Hogwarts is Moody's place."

"How is Remus taking the marriage?"

"Bloke seems fine to me. He's got the excitement in his eye every time we see him."

"I still say that it's a liability. I mean, what if Tonks wants revenge if he's murdered? Speaking of liabilities, how's Hestia taking Emmaline's injuries?"

"Not too good. She wants to kill whichever Death Eater hurt her girlfriend. Did you know Emmaline was a Muggleborn?"

"Didn't have a clue. Guess she hides it well."

"When's the plan to patrol Diagon Ally start?"

"Soon as we get back."

"Possibilities of spottin' a Death Eater are small though, Mate."

"I know. Dumbledore just wants us all on the lookout, just in case. That's why he added the extra wards."

"Good on, mate. Man always was a genius. Crazy, but a genius."

Hermione groaned as she finally fully awoke and opened her eyes, slowly assessing everything around her. "Where… where am I?" she asked softly, her voice hoarse from sleep.

"Mione!" the two boys jumped up and ran to her from where they had been sitting on the other side of the tent. Acing over to their friend, both boys embraced her. Hermione hugged them back momentarily. Suddenly, she remembered everything that had happened and, as if they were suddenly remembering something too, the two boys pulled back quickly.

Clearing his throat, Harry began to speak. "How are you feeling, Mione?" He inquired calmly.

"I've a splitting headache, but aside from that, I'm perfectly fine." The witch glanced around, taking in the silhouettes of trees through the tent entrance flap. "Where are we?"

"That's not important right now." Ron murmured. "What matters is getting you something to eat. Harry and I have been transfiguring food like mushrooms into vegetables because we can't get any meat out of them."

"Rule three of the Laws of Transfiguration." Hermione murmured. "The object being transfigured must bear some resemblance to the object you want to transfigure it into."

"At least the Death Eaters left your brain intact." Harry chuckled. "Any type of fruit or vegetable you want specifically?"

"Uh, an apple will do just fine, thanks." Hermione glanced outside once more. From what she could tell, it was either just before dawn or right after sunset because the sky was still relatively light, but there was no sunlight coming from either direction.

Harry moved over to their collection of mushrooms and began transfiguring as Ron watched Hermione speculatively. She cocked her head at him in confusion before beginning to sift through the memories that had been returned to her.

_I don't understand. In those memories, they seemed like they were my friends, but what Mistress Bellatrix showed me when she was torturing clearly shows that they didn't care about me at all. Who am I supposed to believe?_

The lighter brunette was pulled out of her thoughts by Harry standing in front of her, holding out an apple in one hand and a water bottle in the other. Hermione took them gratefully and went back to her thoughts, trying to find some flaw in either set of memories. She was still devoted to Bellatrix and definitely needed to get back, lest her mistress get angry, but... Harry and Ron were her friends, right?

Glancing up at her two companions, Hermione said, "What's happened since I've been gone?"

Harry and Ron shared a look before sighing. "Mione," Harry murmured. "We don't know how to tell you this, but... Dumbledore's dead."

"What?" Even thought she hadn't regained all of her memories, even Hermione knew that that meant bad news for anyone who was opposing the Dark Lord. "But... how?"

"Harry saw Snape running from the site where it happened." Ron chimed in.

"But Dumbledore won't let us go after him because even after that he's convinced Snape is on our side." Harry grumbled, obviously sore about the predicament.

Hermione's mind raced with this information, unsure of what to make of it. Had Mister Severus really killed Professor Dumbledore?

_He wouldn't do that just for the Dark Lord, would he?_ the young witch wondered, musing over everything she remembered about Severus Snape. It did not escape her notice that she had finally regained quite a few of her memories, though plenty of them were still quite fuzzy and vague, sending slashes of pain across her skull whenever she tried thinking about them.

Glancing to the side of the tent once more, Hermione realized that she had been off on her assumption. It turned out that the tent was facing the sunset so there would be shadows on both sides. Beautiful hues of pink and orange danced along the tent walls as she chewed the apple Harry brought to her. Everything seemed so surreal in her mind. and there were so many questions running around her head too.

_Why were they surrounded by trees instead of at the Burrow? Why weren't the boys at Hogwarts? Who would run the Order with Dumbledore dead? Were the other members of the Order safe? What will Harry do about his connection with the Dark Lord? What will... Mistress Bellatrix do without me there with her? Will she... will she choose someone else to be her servant?_

Hermione was vaguely surprised to feel her chest tightening in despair at the thought of being replaced. _Mistress wouldn't do that. I'm hers, my cursed arm proves it. She'll be calling me back at any moment._ A sidelong glance to the two boys made the brunette's stomach turn uncomfortably. _But... should I go back? Harry and Ron did risk their lives and waste resources in order to save me. It would be ungrateful to go back to her._

Sighing to herself, Hermione lay down, thinking over the specifics of going back. _If I go back to Mistress Bellatrix, I could get tortured for getting taken. But that would be stupid since I had no idea it was coming. And why would I want to go back anyway considering they waited a year and a few months before deciding it was a good time to come and get me? But they must have cared about me since they actually did come for me. However, the memories that Mistress Bellatrix showed me suggested otherwise. Did they actually care about me? Mistress seems to care about me..._

Hermione gave a soft grunt as her head steadily began to throb. There were just too many ifs, ands and buts to the equation that she truly wasn't sure what to do with herself anymore. Everything she believed from both sides of the war was being called into question and for once she was unsure how to address it all. Clearing her mind of the painful thoughts, Hermione glanced around for her saviors.

Seeing the two boys huddled together in the far corner of the tent, Hermione grew curious as to what they were talking about, especially after both glanced at her simultaneously before going back to their discussion. Deciding that she should keep a wary eye on the both of them, Hermione sat up from her bed. As if they sensed her change in mood, the boys broke from their huddle and Ron began making his way over while Harry busied himself with the radio set.

"Hey Mione." Ron murmured softly, moving in closer to the girl. "It is good to see you again." He grinned at her and slowly leaned closer. Hermione knew what he was going to do and a silent protection charm stopped his lips a few inches from her own. He pulled back in surprise, rubbing his bruising mouth as he gazed at her.

"What's wrong?" the redhead inquired. "Don't you want to be with me?"

"No Mister Weasel."

"It's Weasley." Ron huffed. "And why not? I thought you loved me. Harry and I finally rescued you."

"I was there for a year, Mister Weasel. What were you doing in that year?"

"Harry and I were... uh..."

"Living it up with the Twins, Brown, Parkinson, Chang and who knows how many others. I know, Mister Weasel, and it hurt to find out."

"But Hermione," Harry finally spoke up. "We didn't know whether you were dead or not."

"Didn't know or didn't care?" Hermione snarled, glaring at him as her indifferent facade fell slightly.

"We got your wand back!" Ron exclaimed.

"And nearly got it broken!" Hermione retorted. "I'd rather have no wand at all than a _broken_ one, lest I end up like you during second year."

"Why you little-."

"Little what, Ron?" Hermione challenged, her mask giving over to the anger she was feeling and her eyes glittered dangerously. A strange energy was beginning to surround her, covering every inch of her as well as at least a foot or two in diameter around her. A smarter, cooler-headed man would have backed down, but Ron simply snarled.

"You're nothing but an ungrateful, know-it-all, smartass, condescending Mudblood!" he shouted.

Hermione smirked and a small chuckle escaped her lips. Ron stared at her in confusion and Hermione shook her head. "You're poor as dirt and you seriously think insulting me will make much of a difference? You're low and weak, Ron, because for the last year and two months, I've been raped, beaten, used and insulted and yet, it's clear to me that the Death Eaters were more like friends to me than you two ever were."

Harry's eyes narrowed angrily. "How could they have been?" He demanded. "They despise people like you!"

Hermione chuckled again. "I got no appreciation for the work I did for you two."

"Yes you did!" Ron exclaimed. "We always complimented your brain!"

"Only while I was doing your work!" Hermione shot back. "Any other time it was 'Merlin, Hermione, lighten up. Have some fun. Why do you keep getting on us about our schoolwork?' Do you want to know why? Because I was tired of doing it for you! It's three times the homework; I barely had time for myself!"

"It's not like you needed it!" Ron shouted. "All you ever did was study!"

"You mean all you ever _saw_ me doing?" Hermione challenged. "I was also staying in touch with Fleur, protecting myself from Lavender and Parvati's incessant advances and helping Harry deal with his connection to the Dark Lord, among other things. I was doing more than study, you were just too dense to notice because you were the magnificent prefect of Gryffindor House and even before then, I was doing more than study. You are such an attention whore, you know that?"

Ron's ears were redder than his hair and he looked ready to explode. "At least my blood isn't filthy, no matter how poor I am."

Hermione laughed softly. "You're _inbred_. That's worse than being a Mudblood in my opinion."

"Yeah? Well nobody _asked_ for _your_ opinion on anything."

Hermione's eyes hardened all traces of mirth gone. "The Death Eaters were still grateful for it." she said quietly; Ron was taken aback by the sudden lack of yelling. "They cared about what I had to say. Antonin Dolohov, who was the first to rape me when I got there, now has a girlfriend because I gave him advice on what to wear and how to act on a first date. I saved Ignoan Mulciber's life, suggesting he wear Kevlar while out doing surveillance in the Muggle World. Narcissa and Lucius' marriage has never been better because I told them to take a holiday alone together. My opinion mattered to them, even though, to them, my name is Mudblood."

Hermione turned on her heel and strode out of the tent, leaving the safety of the wards and leaning against a tree a few feet away from the ward lines. Twirling her wand in her hand, Hermione didn't know what to feel about it. Because of her private, unknown practices at Hogwarts, she was a master at wandless magic and could do wordless magic exceptionally well also. But it still felt kind of good to have her wand again.

Leaning her head against the tree, Hermione thought of Mistress Bellatrix, probably angry beyond reason back at the Manor, and sighed unhappily.

A shadow fell over her and Hermione looked up to see Ron standing over her wearing a guilty expression. "Hermione, can you walk with me?"

Hermione stood, warily clutched her wand and followed Ron into the woods. At last, he stopped in a small clearing. "Look Hermione, I had no right to yell at you like that. You've been through a lot and I wasn't being fair, especially since this is probably the first time in a year you've heard your own name. I'm really, really sorry I lost my temper with you. Can we... can we start over?"

Hermione gave him a sad smile. "I've got too much of my life left to waste it on the same routine, Ron. With you, it's the same thing again and again. Your life is repetitive, but I don't want mine to be. I need to be alone to think for right now."

Ron's eyes darkened in anger and he whipped out his wand and cast an arm-binding spell before she could reach her newly acquired wand. Hermione fell back against the tree and knelt to the ground, glaring up at Ron.

"I gave you a chance to say yes, but you didn't take it. So I'll just take what I want and kill you so you can't go running back to Harry."

Ron forcibly pulled her pants off, but Hermione made it hard, kicking and squirming, grunting as she tried to get away so the bind could wear off. Ron finally got her underwear off and unbuckled his pants. Hermione waited until just the right moment before giving a well-placed kick to his groin. Ron fell to his knees with a strangled squeak and Hermione began crawling away, feeling the bind's effects wearing off.

Slowly, she got to her feet and took off, sprinting through the woods. Hermione felt that she was getting close to the campsite, but she also heard footsteps pounding behind her. With a burst of speed, the frantic witch dove through the barrier, shouting for Harry. The boy who lived not to get any sleep came out and stared at her, bewildered.

"Harry, Ron tried to-"

"-to kill you so that everyone would think it was Death Eaters?" Harry inquired calmly.

Immediately, Hermione was on guard and had her fingers pointing at his chest. "You knew part of what he was going to do. He didn't mention the part about Death Eaters, but that was most likely your plan. And he apparently failed to tell you that he intended to rape me." She saw Harry's eyes widen in shock before he shook his head and glared at her again.

By this point, the young witch had finally had enough. "Fine," Hermione growled low. "You want to die? Go ahead, but I'm not following you this time Harry. I learn from my mistakes."

Turning on the spot, the brunette saw Harry shoot one last beam of light at her before the suffocating darkness came. Apparating directly into the drawing room, Hermione gasped as pain seized her body. She fell to her knees as a hand flew to her stomach. She felt the wound and knew that Harry had gotten her. Figures were gathering around her with their wands aimed at different parts of her body.

One dropped down beside her and Hermione recognized it as Bellatrix; reaching out, Hermione twirled a curl between her fingers and smiled. "M-my m-mistress." she breathed, sinking into blackness.

_**...**_

"Bellatrix, what is the meaning of this?" the Dark Lord demanded.

The Dark Witch's experienced eyes swept over Hermione's form. "She was hit with Severus' sectumsempra curse, but because it was either done while she was apparating or it was poorly shot, it simply dug a wound in her stomach. From the marks on her lower stomach and waist and the fact that she has no clothes on her lower body, I'd say that either Potter or Weasley tried to rape her. She might've kicked whoever it was in order to make them let her go, causing her to lose one shoe and then, while she was running to safety, she must have lost the other."

"So... they 'rescued' her just so they could rape her?" Dolohov asked. He'd grown quite fond of the young witch as had Mulciber, Lucius and quite a few other Death Eaters. Actually, the only Death Eaters that didn't like her were Snape, Rowle and Pettigrew.

"Looks like it." Bellatrix replied harshly, focusing on healing Hermione's bleeding wound. Once it closed, Bellatrix quickly cast a Rennervate and Hermione opened her eyes.

"Mistress!" Hermione hurriedly kneeled, wincing at the lingering pain in her stomach.

"Why are you here, Mudblood?" Bellatrix demanded in a hard tone, maintaining her image as her eyes portrayed her concern.

"I..." Hermione gulped. "I was already thinking of returning to you, Mistress Bellatrix. My old acquaintances merely strengthened that resolve."

"Oh? And how did they do that?"

"We got into an argument because... because the Weasel wanted to bed me, but because I did not have your permission to entertain him, I refused. He tried to make me feel guilty so I would comply, but I turned it back on him; he said no one cared about my opinion, but I told him that the Death Eaters seemed to like my advice."

"Damn straight!" Dolohov, Mulciber and Lucius agreed.

"A few minutes after I stormed from the tent, the Weasel asked me on a walk before trying to rape me. When he was unclothing me, he snapped my wand in two and I couldn't move my hands so, I kicked him hard in his crotch and ran. I thought... I thought Halfblood would help me, but it was his plan and they were going to blame it on the Death Eaters."

There was an enraged murmur laced with hisses and threats as Hermione continued. "I apparated, but Halfblood shot a spell or curse at me."

"That's been healed, Muddy." Bellatrix told her. "Do you know where they took you?"

"No, they wouldn't say." Hermione replied.

"Did you get any more information from them?"

Hermione hesitated. If she said yes, she would willingly be giving up the Order. But what if the Order or at least Dumbledore, knew what Harry and Ron were planning to do and hadn't bothered to stop them? Wouldn't that make it alright to tell their secrets since they obviously didn't care enough about her to worry about her safety or her life? Yes, yes it would.

Slowly, she nodded up at her Mistress and Bellatrix smirked. "Good little Muddy. Dolohov get her some tea, Simore, a blanket. Mudblood, tell me all you know."

Hermione nodded and took the blanket that Selwyn offered with a grateful smile. "Harry said that the Order had to leave Grimmauld Place because it had been compromised." Bellatrix chuckled darkly and Hermione cocked her head before going on. "They moved headquarters to Dedulus Diggle's house and if that fails they'll move it to Moody's. They have some plan to patrol Diagon Alley just in case they spot any known Death Eaters that had been pardoned during Wizard War One.

"Dumbledore added extra wards to Hogwarts, but nothing that would hinder a quick escape. Mister Lupin is engaged, which Halfblood said was a liability to them both. Hestia Jones and Emmaline Vance were dating, also a liability. Oh, and Harry told me that Dumbledore was dead..."

At this, Bellatrix shot a glare off into a corner where Snape was sitting. "No, the old fool's not dead yet. They probably told you that to see if you had any information on it. You've done well, Pet. Such a good girl."

Hermione smiled shyly and blushed. "Thank you, Mistress." she murmured.

"Alright, let's get you to bed. You will sleep in the chamber next to my room because the dungeon is occupied right now. Come, you must be tired."

Hermione willingly followed Bellatrix to the room and snuggled into the bed, watching her mistress blow out the candles. When there was one candle left, Hermione stopped Bellatrix from blowing it out and slowly, but firmly handed Bellatrix back her broken wand.

The Dark Witch looked down at the artifact with slight interest. "I... I trust you with it, Mistress. And I know you would have been too intelligent to break it. That was proven when you kept it in tact despite believing me to no longer need it."

Bellatrix felt touched that the Mudblood felt so strongly. "Get to sleep, Muddy. You've got lessons in the morning."

Bellatrix blew out the last candle and shut the door.

_**Hermione walked through the forestry, enjoying the night air. The smells and sounds seemed familiar, but Hermione couldn't place how. Arriving in a small clearing, Hermione felt dread pool in her stomach just as something tackled her from behind. Screaming out, the witch caught a flash of red and began to panic. Wriggling and squirming, Hermione threw off her attacker and took off running. Footfalls sounded behind her and her breathing began going hectic. Racing through the woods, Hermione now heard two pairs of feet following her. Speeding up, Hermione gasped as two figures stepped in front of her. Before she could turn and backtrack, both pounced on her; one held her down while the other removed her clothes.**_

_**"No!" Hermione screamed. "No! Stop! Please! I trusted you! How could you do this when I trusted you?" Laughter filled her ears as the first penetration came.**_

Brown eyes flew open as a scream filled the room. Hermione jumped out of the bed and rolled under it, shaking and sobbing uncontrollably. Footsteps sounded and Hermione curled even tighter.

"Exposio!"

Hermione felt a glow surround her and she shook even more. "Come out, my little Muddy."

The soft coo relaxed Hermione instantly and she bounded to Bellatrix, clutching at her mistress. She dropped to the floor as someone shouted, "Crucio!" Bellatrix picked her back up as the Curse was instantly lifted.

"What's all the bloody screaming about?" a voice snarled.

"Yeah, we've got magic for Merlin's sake!"

"What, couldn't be bothered with a simple silencing spell?"

Bellatrix snarled angrily. "Shut it! Then maybe we can get an explanation."

Hermione sniffed and whimpered, "They got me again, they both did. One held me down while the other..." she curled up and sobbed.

"Someone grab a calming drought." Mulciber called.

"Get a sleeping drought while you're at it." Bellatrix added wearily, setting Hermione back on the bed.

The lighter brunette clung to her and it was hard for Bellatrix to believe she was seventeen. "Mudblood, do you want to make them feel the fear they caused you?"

Hermione glanced up at her and slowly nodded. "It would serve them right." she murmured bitterly.

"Perhaps Severus and I could teach you the best ways to do it then, Pet. Are you opposed to torture?"

"Torture?" Hermione looked up as memories came to her of Bellatrix using methods of all kinds on her. "Like what you did to me?"

"Yes, pet. If you torture and kill like Mistress, when you finally find them, they will be so frightened that they will beg you to spare them, giving empty promises and apologizing for 'mistakes'. Are you sure you want that?"

Hermione's mind, still as brilliant as ever, worked through every possible outcome of what could happen. Bellatrix studied her and jumped into her mind to watch her thought process. What she found startled her; it seemed her Mudblood could think pretty far ahead. Hermione was not only thinking on how to make Weasel and Halfblood pay, but also how to ensure the Dark Lord's success so she could stay with Bellatrix.

She actually wants to stay? With me?

"Yes, Mistress Bellatrix." Hermione stated. "I'm sure."

"Good, pet. Severus and I will put you into training in the morning. Sleep well, pet."

Bellatrix set the sleeping and calming droughts on the bedside table and left the room, shutting the door behind her. Hermione's heart squeezed and she whimpered at the darkness around her. A slight creak and some rustling reached her ears and Hermione's breath caught as she sat, petrified, on her bed. Two glowing red eyes stared at her from across the room and Hermione felt herself going faint. Then she realized something: the eyes were connected to a long, scaly body.

"Nagini?" The witch breathed, slipping from the bed to appraise the large snake. Nagini slithered up to her and hissed. Hermione kept still, watching the large snake circle her. Finally, Nagini stopped and looked up at her. Hermione knelt down and gently stroked the smooth leathery skin. Nagini gave a serpentine smile and nuzzled her hand, making a sound akin to the snake version of purring. Hermione smiled and laid back down with the snake wrapped snugly around her. She slowly calmed, feeling Nagini's warmth ward off the remnants of the nightmare.

The Dark Lord watched from the shadows and his interest was sparked. _The Mudblood responds positively to Nagini's obvious darkness. Only Bellatrix has done that before. Perhaps the Mudblood is developing into someone like Bellatrix. A meeting with my head enforcer is in order._

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><p><em><strong><strong><em>And there you go! For those of you who may think the nightmare was rushed, it's because I wanted to move the story along. That and I didn't want to dwell on the rape too long, rather focus on everything that will stem from this failed attempt to kill Mione. As always, reviews are appreciated. <em>****_

_****_Aside from that, just wanted to let you guys know I'm now on  
>Tumblr (gothalbinoangel-fiction),<br>_****__****_Twitter ((a)gothalbinoangel),  
>a Facebook (Goth Albino Angel)<br>and an Archive of Our Own account (GothAlbinoAngel).  
>There are more details on my profile. Thanks for the support, guys!<em>****_


	16. Giving News

**_Sorry I've been gone so long guys, but I'm back now! _**

**_Main thing with this chapter: it's Order-centric. I can't say too much, otherwise I'll spoil it, but it's pretty much Order reactions to Harry and Ron returning 'empty-handed'. So, if you're faint-hearted, _**_feels_**_. Otherwise, enjoy the chapter, guys._**

**_Take place immediately after Hermione apparated._**

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><p>Ron slowly picked himself up off the ground, following Hermione's path back to where the camp had been set up. He hoped that Harry had been able to take care of her before she had the chance to say too much. Entering the ward boundaries, he glanced around, noting the lack of a body or blood. Movement made Ron turn toward the tent where Harry was just emerging.<p>

"Well?" he demanded. "Where is she?"

"She got away." Harry spat back.

"How could you let her escape?" the ginger groaned.

"Don't pin this on me!" Harry snarled. "What idiot rapes a hostage before killing them? And Hermione at that? She was our friend-!"

"Until she sold us out, mate." Ron interrupted. "She turned into a traitor. _Don't_ forget that." Harry remained silent and Ron added, "Plus she's playing pet to that witch. You know, the one that _killed_ Sirius?"

Rage erupted behind Harry's eyes and he exhaled roughly. "What do we do now?" he murmured. "We can't go back empty-handed. Dumbledore will never trust us with another mission."

Both of them sat in front of the tent, trying to work out a solution to the problem, knowing that their headmaster would not be happy with them. The warm August air prickled at their skin as they thought over the predicament and possible ways out of it.

_Why is this so hard?_ Harry wondered, staring at a cluster of bushes. _Hermione made it seem so easy. How could she work out problems like it was nothing? Perhaps we should have joined her in the library more often..._

_Why is this so complicated?_ Ron fumed. _Hermione could do it just fine. If she could do it, I should be able to do it too!_ He stared at some mushrooms across from him and wondered if he could transfigure them into dinner. _Transfigure... that's it!_

"Harry, mate!" Harry jumped slightly at Ron's exclamation and turned to his jubilant friend in confusion. "I've got it!" Ron snatched up some of the mushrooms.

"Got what?" Harry asked.

"Look at these." the ginger ordered. "They look like eyes, right?" Harry squinted at the mushrooms and shrugged noncommittally. Ron set the mushrooms down and began to wave his wand carefully, fully concentrated on his task. After a moment, the fungus began to shrink and lighten, rounding out. Harry watched, astounded as a pair of familiar brown eyes appeared.

"Ron!" she shouted, jumping to his feet excitedly. "Ron, you're a genius!"

Rushing to a nearby tree, the brunette tore a chunk of bark from it and slowly transformed it into a bushy brown wig. "This will do until Dumbledore finds someone else to take care of Hermione."

Ron snagged a tree branch and turned it into a dismembered hand. Eyeing the sticky substance dripping from it, he cast a color changing charm on the sap to turn it red. "Do you think this will be enough for them?"

"No." Harry murmured. "They'll want more proof than that. Clothing?"

"Hang on." Ron dashed into the woods. Harry stared after him in bewilderment, wondering what that was about. _Maybe he knows where Hermione's clothes... of course he knows, he tried to rape her. He must know where something is._

A few moments later, Ron returned with shredded fabric in his hand. "What's that?" his friend asked.

"Hermione's jeans." Ron replied, still shredding them. Dipping them into the sap dripping from the tree Harry had torn the bark from, he cast the color changing charm again.

"We've got hair, clothing, eyes, a dismembered hand..." Harry ticked the items off on his hand. "We need one more thing. Remember the scar we saw while dressing her? On her left arm?

"The _Mudblood_ one?"

"Yeah. That'll definitely prove it's Hermione." Ron nodded and the pair scoped out a thick branch, beginning to transfigure it together. While Ron worked on making it look like an arm, Harry carved the letters into it. Finishing up, the boys stared at their masterpiece and nodded to each other with matching grins. Gathering the tent up and putting the 'evidence' in a sack, the pair apparated to Hogsmeade and began the trek up to Hogwarts.

Climbing over the gates, the boys made their way up into the castle. Due to it still being August and school not starting for at least another week, the halls of the school were empty aside from the occasional ghost. Harry led the way up to Dumbledore's study and stopped in front of the gargoyle. "Chocolate frog." he stated calmly. The gargoyle shifted and revealed the spiral staircase, closing once both of them were through. They shifted uneasily and glanced at each other before beginning up the staircase. Knocking at the door, Harry waited to be invited inside.

"Enter!"

_Here goes nothing._ He thought, slowly entering the office. "Professor?" he called, turning his attention to the desk where Professor Dumbledore sat waiting for them.

"I trust your task was completed, Harry?" Dumbledore inquired, looking up.

"There were a few complications, but yes sir."

"Complications?"

"Well, Hermione tried to escape, you see. And we kind of panicked, sir." Ron stepped forward with the sack, dumping it out. Dumbledore stared at the dismembered hand, the eye, the hair, the clothing and the mangled arm. "This is all we found after the _reducto_ hit her." Ron murmured.

"We're sorry sir." Harry whispered.

"Not to worry, Harry." Dumbledore stood. "This may help us convince the Order not to go searching after her again. Come with me and follow my lead."

Dumbledore moved over to the fireplace and threw some Floo powder inside, calling, "Dedulus Diggle's House." Harry and Ron moved closer and stepped into the fire with their headmaster. Spinning on the spot, Dumbledore and Ron stepped out easily while Harry stumbled a bit, still not quite used to the Floo. They had arrived in the spacious living room of the home where several members of the Order were already located.

Many heads turned at the arrival of the trio. "Albus?" Arthur perked up. "Is something wrong?"

"I think it would be best for everyone to hear the news, Arthur." Dumbledore told him somberly. "Including the children." Molly moved upstairs to get the children while Arthur and a few others sent out Patronuses to call out to the rest of the Order. After several minutes, people began filing into the room, all of them looking worried.

"Albus?" Remus called.

"Everyone." Dumbledore began. "A terrible tragedy has befallen us tonight. I sent Harry and Ron to bring Miss Granger home-."

"And you didn't tell me?" Ginny exclaimed.

"Or us?" the twins added indignantly.

"Et moi?" Fleur huffed, crossing her arms.

"I only sent Ron and Harry because the less people that went, the faster they could move." Dumbledore explained, his expression not changing. "Not only that, but no one would dare lay a hand on Harry since Lord Voldemort wants to kill Harry himself."

"Well if you sent them to get Hermione, where is she?" Luna asked curiously, ignoring all the flinching that took place at the Dark Lord's name.

"We lost her." Ron stated gruffly, making everyone pause in confusion.

"_Lost_ her?" Ginny growled lowly, eyes narrowed. "How did you _lose_ her? She's an eighteen-year-old girl!"

"She's going to be nineteen soon!" Ron snapped defensively.

"Nineteen-year old girl then." Ginny amended heatedly. "How did you _lose_ her?"

"The Death Eaters!" Harry piped up. "She was killed by the Death Eaters, alright?"

Ginny stared at him in disbelief. "No." she breathed, her face going pale. "No! Y-you're lying!"

"He's not lying, Ginny." Ron told her, shoulders slumped. "We had her. She was running with us cause the Death Eaters were on our tail. Bellatrix... you should have seen her, Gin. She had a wild look in her eyes."

"She was angry. She was angry that Hermione was coming with us, had chosen us." Harry intoned quietly.

"She waved her wand and... and Hermione... she just exploded."

"What?" Fred murmured.

"Like a _reducto_?" George said slowly.

"I don't know, mate." Ron told him. "One minute she was right next to us and the next... this was all we could find of her after we ditched the Death Eaters." He held up the sack and slowly knelt down, letting the contents roll from inside. All eyes surveyed the pieces and Luna gasped when she spotted the arm with Mudblood written on it.

"Hermione..." Tonks breathed, gazing brokenly at the remains.

"She's... gone..." Fleur whimpered, turning her face into Bill's chest.

Ginny's hands flew to her mouth as she covered a silent scream. Luna wrapped an arm around her as the redhead sank to her knees, tears pouring down her cheeks at the news. Harry watched her guiltily, knowing that he could easily ease her pain with just a few words and an admission. But Dumbledore's plan was riding on the fact that Hermione had been killed by Death Eaters and the Order had to believe that Hermione was dead.

Ginny stared at the evidence of Hermione's death and felt her heart shatter into pieces. The same pain as before erupted in her chest. Luna noticed the sudden change and quickly picked up the redhead, hurrying up the stairs as the first of Ginny's screams began echoing through the house.

"NO!" the redhead sobbed, clinging to the blonde as she shook. "No! Hermione!" The tears flowed like waterfalls, cascading over reddening cheeks as Ginny clutched at Luna's shirt, shaking violently as the sobs ripped through her body and tore from her lips. The pain of knowing that her love was gone and knowing that she hadn't gotten to her in time wreaked havoc on her body, her bones ached, her heart burst and lights popped behind her eyelids.

Luna stroked the red hair, cooing gently to her friend and holding her close. Tears leaked from the large blue eyes, blonde hair getting stuck to pale skin by a few of them. Luna made not a sound as she held Ginny, the other girl making enough noise for both of them. Luna's heart ached for both her friends. It ached for Hermione, the fact that the girl had only been a child in her mind and she had still been tortured and killed by those monsters. It ached for Ginny, who had been so adamant about getting the brunette back, but was denied each time until it was just too late.

Downstairs, Ginny's screams reached through the floors, but not much talking was going on anyway. Most of the members were in mourning for the girl they had come to love. Only those who knew the truth about the operation—consisting of Molly Weasley, Elphias Doge, Dumbledore and, of course, Harry and Ron—were not lowering their heads in grief or shedding tears of sorrow. Harry and Ron were feeling guilty because of Ginny's shrieks echoing around them. Molly had a troubled expression on her face, wondering if she had let Dumbledore do the right thing when it had obviously hurt her daughter. Elphias could care less about the girl and, had he been given the chance, he would have killed her himself when the war was over; in his book, anyone or anything as powerful as Dumbledore had described needed to be destroyed once it had served its use.

Dumbledore faced the fire, not wanting the Order to see his deeply troubled expression. He knew that Hermione Granger was not dead, the two boys (who have both been failing miserably in Occlumency training) have given him that much information with their thoughts. They had inadvertently let her get away as well as given her their plans. Something drastic had to be done in order to get her within their reach or else the Dark Lord would triumph.

Slowly, Tonks stood, tears streaming down her cheeks and she headed upstairs to go comfort Ginny with Luna. She may not have known too much about Hermione, but the younger witch had still struck a chord in her heart. Hermione, having read books on metamorphmagi, had gone through a lot of trouble to even help Tonks learn to change her appearance without even having to concentrate too hard. Moving into the room, the black-haired woman knelt next to Luna and Ginny and wrapped them both in a hug, giving Luna a shoulder to cry on as well. Within minutes, Remus joined them, holding Tonks and being the only one out of the group not crying.

Harry and Ron shifted awkwardly and leaned against a wall, their heads bowed in thought. Harry wondered if he had done the right thing by going along with the plan in the first place. Hermione had been his friend and, even though he trusted Dumbledore, he was loathe to believe that she had done any of the things the old wizard had described. From years of working with the headmaster, Harry knew that he always had an agenda and that didn't sit well with Harry at all. Hermione had been a good person and she was still intelligent. She wouldn't have given up information.

Ron's thoughts weren't anywhere near Harry's. The redheaded boy was seething at the fact that he had been given the perfect chance to have Hermione as his and show her why she should love him, but in his hurry to get what he wanted, he had made a mistake and she had escaped. She would not keep outsmarting him. She was going to give in to her feelings for him whether she wanted to or not. And next time, she wouldn't get away.

Gradually, the other Order members began filtering out, their hearts too heavy to even contemplate being anywhere with anyone else. They needed time to grieve alone and they couldn't do that in a room full of others. Emmaline sobbed into Hestia's shirt as the two strode to the gates and apparated. She was the only one, though. The others were too numb to cry and most walked out as if they were in a daze. When all that remained were the Weasleys, Dumbledore turned back and gave them all an encouraging smile. This upset the twins, who glared at him, wondering how he could smile at a time like this. In their minds, it was his fault Hermione was dead. He hadn't been willing to let them all go save her. Now she was gone.

Dumbledore slowly made his way out and apparated to his office. He sank into his chair and sighed, wondering what he was going to do now. Hermione Granger had to die, that was for certain. The only question, the thing that would cause hours of insomnia, was _how?_

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><p><strong><em>And there you have it. I'm sorry it took so long and I'm working out a schedule as we speak, but just know, I'm in college and I have work to do so don't expect updates as often as you would want them to be... and don't hold me to any of my updates cause things happen.<em>**

**_Aside from that, just wanted to let you guys know I'm now on Tumblr (gothalbinoangel-fiction), Twitter ((a)gothalbinoangel), a Facebook (Goth Albino Angel) and an Archive of Our Own account (GothAlbinoAngel). There are more details on my profile._**

**_And there you have it. Thanks for the support! Drop me a review, yeah?_**


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